The Ones That Got Away - And Those Who Didn't
by Just Dyana
Summary: In a world where you can know when you meet your soulmate because both of your hearts start glowing, and can feel that you're getting closer from them because of your dreams, everyone spends an important part of their life looking for their one true love. Or maybe not everyone… Because sometimes, your soulmate is not who you would want them to be. Soulmates AU. Complete.
1. Nightmare

Addison was awoken by Zed carefully moving in the bed next to her. She immediately sat up, looking at him with worried eyes.

"Zed? Are you okay?"

He glanced at her with an apologetic look. He hadn't intended to wake her. Addie could feel herself getting more and more anxious, and his silence wasn't making things any easier for her.

"Did you… dream?"

Zed didn't say anything for a couple seconds, and then nodded gravely. Addie felt her heart nearly burst in her chest and she wondered how she'd get through this. She knelt next to Zed, on the bed, and wrapped her arms around him. He sighed and pressed his head against her shoulder. He was just as worried - as terrified - as she was.

Their situation was very unusual.

Most people didn't engage in serious relationships. They rather waited until they had finished high school, eventually college, to go around the world and look for their soulmates.

But Addison and Zed had fallen in love, while knowing that they weren't soulmates. It didn't mean that their feelings for each other weren't strong. It didn't mean that they didn't stand a chance together.

"They're looking for us," Addison whispered, gently stroking Zed's hair.

Zed closed his eyes. The gesture was soothing, and it helped him calm down. As much as he tried to play it cool, he couldn't forget that girl he saw in his dreams. He didn't see her face, but he noticed her short black hair and her Metallica tee-shirt. He had thought of how different she was from Addie, and he hadn't liked it.

They had both secretly hoped that they'd be able to stay together, that their soulmates wouldn't come looking for them. They knew it was unlikely, though, and Zed's discovery was sad, but far from surprising.

"I don't know," Zed said softly.

Addison sighed. He put his hands on her waist and looked up towards her. He kissed her slowly. There was no passion in the kiss. It just meant 'I'm here for you', and that was all they needed at the moment. He was the one who pulled away.

"Do you think we'll just be… wiped out, when we meet them?" Zed asked. He did his best to hide how he really felt about it. He didn't succeed. Addison may not be his soulmate, but she could read him just as easily.

She looked at him. She felt the warmth of his hands on her body, his hot breath close to her face. His hair tickled as his head brushed against the skin of her neck. She thought of their first kiss, when they were both so terrified to jump into a relationship that would probably end because of their soulmates. She thought of how he had put all these light bulbs in this abandoned warehouse just to make the moment perfect and romantic, and how he had later told her that he had had to _beg_ Eliza to help him so there would be electricity.

She didn't want to lose all that.

"I don't know," she said. There were tears in her eyes.

He grabbed her face and kissed her, with more passion. This time, the kiss meant 'you're the one I love'. She answered it eagerly. If Zed's soulmate was looking for him, this would probably end very soon. And they didn't want it to end.

"Maybe we should run away," Zed said.

But Addison shook her head. "We may just run into my soulmate if we do that. We can't spend our time running away from yours, anyway." She smiled sadly. "She must be so excited and so happy at the thought of meeting you." Her laugh was full of tears. "She's a lucky girl, you know that? You're wonderful."

Her words made Zed think of how another man would be holding Addison, once he was with that girl, whoever she was. He didn't like it.

She immediately knew something was off and she leaned in to kiss him. "I love you."

"I love you, Addie," Zed said. "I don't have any interest in… someone else."

She chuckled sadly. "Neither do I. But we knew we were going there, didn't we?"

Of course they knew. They had heard people tell them how their love wasn't real because they weren't soulmates. Addison's parents had actively tried to make them break up.

And yet, there were examples of unhappy soulmates all around! Bucky and Eliza, for example, fated together even when they represented _everything_ the other hated. Zed's dad, as well, who had never gotten over his wife's death.

"This is real," Zed said.

" _We_ 're real," Addie answered.

They smiled.

"When's Zombie's next concert?" Addison asked, trying to find a lighter subject. Zombie was Zed's band, basically made of him, Bonzo, and Eliza. Zed glanced towards the clock and grunted.

"In thirteen hours from now."

"And when do you have to leave?"

"In four hours…"

She laughed. "You may want to get some sleep then."

"No," he mumbled, protesting like a spoiled child. "I want to stay with you." Then, without any warning, he made her fall on the bed and pretended to bite her neck. She laughed, protesting just for fun.

They did their best to put their heart into it. But even as Zed kissed Addison, as she took off his shirt and ran her hands over his chest, as he joked about her wanting to see him naked, they knew. From now on, they were on borrowed time.

This - them - would probably end soon, even if they didn't want it to.

That was one more reason to enjoy those moments as much as possible.

* * *

 _Okayyy, hope this wasn't too depressing, ahah. I've always been attracted to that kind of stories. For the record, I absolutely didn't invent the 'soulmates' story, but I tend to love those and I haven't seen that many in which people_ aren't _actually soulmates. Hope you liked it :3 I also hope my writing was okay, english is not my first language. If I made mistakes, please just let me know ^^ Don't hesitate to leave a review if you did, that's the only way an author will know you've enjoyed what they wrote!_

 _Thanks for reading!_

 _Dya._

 _EDIT: Thank to keep-swinging for helping me with my mistakes!_


	2. The End

If one had described Eliza as a passionate woman, he would have been incomplete. If he had said that she was a strong woman, he would very much _not_ have honored the truth about her. Saying that she was smart wouldn't have done it either. Eliza was all of this, of course, but she was also much more than the sum of her parts. Each and everyone one of those seemed to fuel the others. Her intelligence was her strength, as she wasn't exactly muscular. Her passion fueled her reflexion, and her thoughts made everything her passion wanted to make true, possible.

That didn't mean Eliza wasn't a hopeless romantic. In this world of soulmate, almost everyone was. However, she couldn't possibly admit it. She was the girl who, when she was seven, had gone on hunger strike until her mom would buy her an ice cream. That had failed miserably, for sure, and therefore she had learned the harsh reality of life. You didn't always win. However, that didn't stop her from trying. And sometimes, she won. In her secondary school, she had managed to get the mayor of Seabrook to get computers for the kids.

She still hadn't been able to get them a trip, although the children from the school on the other side of town did one every year.

She was also responsible for something that would change many people's lives. She had been the one who had petitioned and had moved heaven and earth until she got what she wanted. And what she wanted was for the teenagers on the 'bad' side of town to go to the high school from the 'good' side.

Would she have done it, knowing everything that would ensue? She couldn't answer to that question. She genuinely had no idea.

Eliza had been having dreams about her soulmate since forever, and that could only mean one thing: her soulmate was close. Very close. She had thought, quite naively perhaps, that she would meet him soon. She had been surprised, actually, to have never ran into him by the time she got into high school. She was pretty active, after all, she really should have.

It had never occurred to her that maybe, just maybe, her soulmate lived on the other side of town.

Until she met him.

It was her first day at the Seabrook high school. She was walking down the road, between Zed, who was joking about how he was going to make the football team, and Bonzo, who was playing with two sticks, mimicking the movement of a drummer. Seriously, someone needed to get this guy a drum kit. From what she knew, he would probably get access to that at the school.

And if they didn't want to let him… Oh god. She would unleash hell. They didn't know her if they thought they'd get away with that.

She had joyous thoughts of revolution in her mind when she stepped into the school. She immediately noticed Bucky. It's not like she could have missed him. He was wearing his cheerleading uniform, and he wasn't exactly discreet.

And suddenly, the world stopped. She couldn't hear the sounds, she couldn't see, except for him. Her heart started beating like crazy, and an intense heat filled her entire body. She pressed her hands against her chest, trying to conceal the glow. She didn't have to look down to tell.

She knew she could have walked towards him, and that his chest would have glowed too. But the thing was, she didn't want that. First things first, she didn't want this to be so public. But that wasn't it. She wished it was. The thing was that this man… He was a cheerleader. He came from the 'good' side of town.

And she didn't want to have anything to do with someone like that.

So she simply turned around and left.

It would take her a lot of time to understand just how unbelievable it was, that she was able to do that. That she had been able to resist the attraction of her soulmate, an attraction that was, precisely, supposed to be absolute.

But that was what she thought about that night.

Someone had knocked at her door, and it had pissed her off. It was almost 11 p.m. Sure, she was awake because she was working on one of her speeches and all, but that wasn't a reason.

She opened the door, ready to yell at the top of her lungs, when she discovered Addison.

Not the best version of Addison, though.

An disheveled Addison, a crying Addison with make-up running down her face, with loud sobs coming out of her body, with incontrollable spasms making her chest shake violently. An Addison who was ready to collapse.

Eliza caught her before her knees hit the floor. Without a word, she dragged her inside and sat her on her couch. Still without talking, she went to grab a box of tissues. Addison grabbed it, and seemed to try to stop herself. She didn't succeed so well. Every time she managed to calm herself, she stared into space for a second, and got back to crying.

Eliza felt pain, watching her like that.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

Addison shook her head. It wasn't that she didn't want to. But she couldn't. She genuinely couldn't. She didn't think she was able to just _talk_.

And then Eliza's phone rung. She glanced at it. Zed. She grabbed the phone.

"Yeah?"

" _Eliza, do you know where Addie is?_ "

"Yeah, she's with me," she said, glancing at the blonde. Addison didn't pay any attention to her, as she was blowing her nose loudly.

" _Is she alright?_ "

Eliza rolled her eyes. "What did you think, you moron? That she'd be dancing and singing?"

Zed chuckled. Eliza could have ripped his face off, had he been standing in front of her. How did he _dare_? How _could_ he chuckle when Addison was in that state? Since she couldn't do anything, she just clenched her fist. Hard. She went out of the room. If she started to yell, she wanted Addie to be at least slightly protected. For now, she had to keep her teeth gritted not to tear Zed to shreds verbally.

"No, I guess not, Eliza, but that's… She's… She's _incredible_. She's _wonderful_."

Eliza froze. It was raining outside. She looked at herself in the window, as the drops crashed against the glass. He wasn't talking about Addison anymore. She knew it. Right after meeting his soulmate, there was no way he could talk about something else.

It had been the same for her, after all.

"And she's so _different_ Eliza. Different from anyone else. She's… Changing my life."

Eliza closed her eyes. She was _so_ mad at him.

"What's she like?"

"She's… I… I can't begin to describe her."

"Not physically, Zed. What's she like?"

There was a silence. Of course, he couldn't answer that.

"Because your girlfriend of five years is crying in my living-room right now. Addie. The girl who pushed so hard to help you join the football team. The girl who inspired half of the melodies you wrote. The girl who likes to stand backstage to watch us play, because it means she gets to kiss you when we get offstage. _Addison_ , Zed, for fuck's sake."

Silence.

"You're right," Zed said.

Of course she was right. But hearing him say that hurt. Because she had gone through that too. She expected that. And she knew exactly what she would say next.

"But I can't help it, Eliza."

She didn't have any patience for that shit. "Yeah. We'll see. Think about it, Zed. Night."

"Wait, Eli-"

She hung up and went back to the living-room, where Addison was still crying.

"It was him, right?" she asked, sobbing.

Oh god. Of course, if it was about Zed, she could talk.

"He _loves_ her, 'Liza. He loves _her_!"

She hiccuped loudly, tried to stop herself, and failed.

"I _prepared_ for that! So why does it hurt so much?"

The tears sprung up to Eliza's eyes. She couldn't take that. She couldn't take her friend's pain. She sat next to her and gently wrapped her arms around her.

Addie didn't even seem to have enough strength to do the same. She rested her head on Eliza's shoulder and kept on crying, soaking Eliza's shirt. In any other circumstance, Eliza would have protested loudly, or cracked a joke. But not tonight.

"She's nothing like me," Addison whispered after a while. "She's… taller, and… she has dark hair, and… She's different, Eliza."

"Is that a bad thing?" Eliza asked carefully. "Would you have liked it better if she'd been a replica of you?"

Addie didn't know what to say to that. She didn't know. Maybe she would have. Then she'd have thought that her and Zed had almost been fated together. But maybe that almost would have hurt even more. Now, however, she even thought that they never had a chance. If Zed's ideal was so different from her... It implied that their relationship had been doomed to failure since the very beginning. That everything they had planned and talked about and their future dog's name and how he would take her on tour once he'd be a rock star and how he had said he would always offer her ice cream on Valentine's day and how she had bought two tickets for them to go see his favorite band in concert and how they were supposed to go to Europe during the summer and...

She started to cry again. She tried not to be too loud, she tried to hold herself back, but soon she was nearly screaming. She couldn't take it. Eliza rubbed her back gently, keeping her eyes closed. Not so long ago, she would probably have thought that it was ridiculous, that Addie had to be faking it, or exaggerating. Now, she knew all too well how much a broken heart hurts.

When Addie's sobs started to calm down, Eliza moved back, and the blonde tried to give her a smile. She knew that Eliza wasn't a big fan of physical contact, and that she had probably forced herself to help her.

Eliza may not be the nicest, nor the easiest person to be around, but her and Addison had become great friends throughout the years. She had been the only one Addison had been able to think about when Zed's chest had began to glow, right under her head.

Gosh, how awful was that? Zed was hugging her, his chin resting on her head. And suddenly, a bright red light had appeared in front of her. She hadn't understand, first. Then she had looked up, to discover Zed, completely dazzled by something behind her.

Something that had turned out to be someone.

Her name was Annalisa, but everyone called her Anna.

She had looked at Zed. Zed had stared into her eyes.

Addison had run away. She hadn't been able to stand watching him looking at another the girl the way he only looked at her.

And here she was. On her friend's sofa, thinking that of course she would get through that. Thinking, at the same time, that something inside of her was _dying_. Thinking that she wouldn't survive it. Thinking that she would never be able to handle that. Thinking that she would _have_ to handle it. Because you can't die from a broken heart.

Eliza stayed with her the entire night.

* * *

 _So, I have to admit I didn't really think this would turn into a longer work. This is going to be a short story, maybe 5-6 chapters, but I hope you will enjoy it... And that you weren't too traumatized by this first chapter. Trust me, Addison and Zed's story is far from over._

 _The story will mostly focus on Eliza, but there will also be, as you can guess from this chapter, a lot of Zedison, and a hint of Bonzo/Bree._ _I will see you soon! Thank so much to everyone who left a review that means so so much to me and well, this chapter wouldn't be there if it wasn't for you._

 _Dya._


	3. Not the Beginning

Waking up the following day was physically painful for Addie. She didn't have the few seconds of bliss she had hoped for, seconds during which she wouldn't have to think about Zed, or about his soulmate. What she had was the feeling that somebody had ripped her heart from her chest, and that she couldn't do anything about it.

She was laying on Eliza's couch, and Eliza was huddled up in a big and old armchair that seemed so cozy she looked like she had been half swallowed by it. Addie smiled, like it was a reflex from her facial muscles, and then the smile disappeared. She stood up slowly and made her way towards the kitchen. She needed to eat. She knew her body well enough to be aware of the fact that, if she didn't, she would never be able to function.

Yet, as soon as she stepped in the messy and small room painted with bright colors, she knew she wouldn't be able to get anything in her mouth, and even less down her throat. She stepped out and, not wanting to risk waking Eliza up, she went to her friend's room. It was unbelievably messy, with clothes and books everywhere, and it made Addie smile.

'Smiling' did not mean that she was alright. Smiling meant that she was trying to keep living. She didn't have the luxury to let everything crash down. She had exams coming up, she couldn't allow herself to be destroyed by that situation. She was actually willing to do anything in order not to be sad. Anger would have worked better, but she couldn't bring herself to be angry against anyone.

Except herself.

It wasn't Zed's fault. It wasn't his soulmate's fault. It wasn't anyone's fault but hers for trying to make things work between Zed and her and for not being prepared enough.

Tears welled up in her eyes. To distract herself, she grabbed a book on the ground. It didn't work that well on the distraction part, as its title was 'Soulmates: fate or biology?' Addie frowned. Both. Duh. Everyone knew that a soulmate was someone whose pheromones were perfectly compatible with yours, but everyone also agreed on the fact that the emotional and intellectual connection one had with their soulmate could only be explained by fate.

She let the book fall on the ground. Why on earth was Eliza reading this crap? She grabbed another book. 'The big lie of soulmates'. Jeez. 'Finding a soulmate: man's absolute goal'. Okayyy, well that didn't make her feel any better. She was about to pick another one when she heard Eliza's voice behind her.

"That one's extremely good, actually. Pretty technical on the biological side, but totally worth it."

"Why are you reading all that?" Addie asked, confused. "That's basically common knowledge."

Eliza rose an eyebrow. "Uh, no, it's not. Can you explain me _why_ people have soulmates? And how it works?"

At another time, Addie would have just shrugged and not care. Eliza had always had weird obsessions, and it was best to just leave them be without questioning it. Now, however, she couldn't do that. Because she wanted an answer too. "No, I can't," she said, slightly more agressive than she should have been. "Can you?"

Eliza didn't point out her answer, nor how Addie only cared _now_. "Well, I have a few leads, yeah. I'm still working on it, though. It's very looked down upon to even just research it, so there aren't that many studies. Are you feeling any better?"

Addie opened her mouth to lie, but nothing managed to get out of it. She was not.

"Look, I've got stuff to do today-" usually it would have made Addie smiled, because Eliza always had so much stuff to do. "-so I won't be there, but maybe you want to stay with Bree and Bonzo?"

Addie blinked. Did Eliza really offered her to stay with their friends who were living their happily ever after as perfect soulmates? The brown-haired girl seemed to realize what she had said and was about to backtrack but Addie was quicker.

"Would you mind if I stayed here today? I promise I'll leave tonight, but I really don't want to risk running into Zed and… Anna."

Eliza mumbled something Addie couldn't quite grasp, and ended up muttering something along the lines of "fine, yeah, whatever, you don't bother me anyway", which probably meant "You can stay here as long as you want to", a feeling Eliza would of course never express out loud.

While Addison fell on the couch and closed her eyes, hoping to get some more sleep, Eliza got ready and went out. She was very tensed, something Addie attributed to Eliza's work. Because Eliza wasn't only the lyric writer and guitarist in Zed's band, nor was she only writing a mysterious thesis, but she also played an important role in several associations - for women's rights, in the Black Lives Matter movement, and, on a more local perspective, defending people who were born on the wrong side of the town.

How did she manage to deal with all that? Nobody knew.

Nobody knew but her.

It kept her busy. It kept her busy enough not to have to think about Bucky.

Looking back at her teenage self, she could tell that the reasons why she ran away from him and avoided letting him know that he was her soulmate were stupid. She had just as much prejudice against the good side of town as they had against the side where she came from. Not that she was responsible for that - her way of thinking was merely a response to how terribly people around her had been treated - but now, she could perfectly admit it to herself. And yet, she would still have congratulated teen-Eliza had she had the chance.

* * *

It had been quite awkward, things with Bucky. She was in the crowd with Zed and Bonzo, close from Addison. Thinking back, she was pretty sure the attraction between Zed and Addison was already visible, even though their eyes had basically just met. Bucky started to harangue people, trying to convince already fully convinced people to join the cheerleader squad.

And at some point, his eyes went over her. She felt a weird shot of emotion in her entire body, like she was going to melt, and the urge to run to him. But once again, she was able to stop herself.

Suddenly, Bucky's chest started to glow, and an excited whisper ran through the crowd. That could only mean one thing: his soulmate was here! People looked all around, trying to spot them, but couldn't find anyone, which they found hella suspicious, to quote them. Bucky's eyes immediately darted back to the small group he had just glanced over.

He recognized his cousin Addison - couldn't be her -, and tried to engrave the face of everyone else around her in his mind. Among those people were three persons who, _clearly_ , came from the other side of town. Their hair were died in green, which was _ridiculous_ , if you asked him, and their clothes were stupid, ugly, and obviously cheap . And yet, his soulmate might very well be amongst them… Oh, well. That couldn't be helped. He'd get them out of that situation anyway.

* * *

Present-Eliza shook her head, trying to get rid of the feelings that filled teen-Eliza. Feelings that didn't really fade, on the contrary. That was, perhaps, the most powerful, and, to her, the worst part of the soulmate bond. There was no way to forget it.

There was no way not to be tempted to give in.

* * *

So Eliza, for weeks, had avoided Bucky at any cost, because she was just that stubborn, and ranted about him all the time. About how he was a moron, privileged asshole who wanted to be the world to bend for him. About his performances that were only meant to make him look better while he used all the cheerleaders as foils and about how he was adored in the school.

And as she said all that, she realized that she _believed_ all that. She didn't do it to convince herself. She thought every single word she said about him. Well, not the attacks on how he dressed, how he looked, or his excessive taste for pink, but the rest was quite spot on.

Addison regularly attempted to defend her cousin, and every once in a while one of her witty comebacks managed to make Eliza shut up. Which was extremely impressive, by the way. No one outsmarted Eliza. Never.

No wonder Zed fell for the girl.

They didn't started dating until the end of their last year of high school, but _of course_ they liked each other a lot before that.

Eliza stopped talking about Bucky when Bree and Bonzo met.

It was a stupid scene, really. Her, Zed and Bonzo were to give their very first concert as the band 'Zombie', which featured subversive songs by Eliza herself, cool melodies by Zed, and the most amazing beat imaginable by Bonzo. Bonzo was probably the best musician among them.

And suddenly, during the concert, while Addison and her friends were cheering on the front row, the drum stopped.

Next thing Eliza knew, Bonzo had jumped off from the stage. He effortlessly lifted Bree up, his hands on her waist, and she laughed. Their smiles expressed a beautiful joy.

* * *

Eliza shivered at the thought and managed to finally draw herself away from her teenage memories, only for the present to hit her in the face violently.

Bucky was there.

The world froze as she looked at him. Their eyes met when he looked up from his cellphone, and he smiled. Oh boy, his smile… It was a confident grin that lifted only one side of his mouth, and as he walked towards her, he ran his hands through his already perfect hair.

But Eliza blinked, and the magic disappeared. She took a deep breath and calmly folded her arms.

"Hi 'Liza," he said with confidence.

"Bucky," she answered coldly. "I take it you're back from college."

"For the holidays, yeah. I thought I'd drop here to see you."

She scoffed. Of course he would think something like that, and worse, he would do it. He hadn't changed much since high school

The world still had to bend for him.

And the person who would make Eliza bend was not born yet.

"You saw me. I've got work to do."

"Oh, _come on_ , I'm in town now. I'll buy you lunch."

Gosh, she wished she didn't want to go with him. She didn't show any of that, but right now, she knew she needed something. She needed something to remind herself why she and Bucky would never, could never work out.

"Did you know that Addie and Zed broke up? Zed's soulmate arrived in town yesterday."

Bucky showed no surprise.

"Well, that's a pity for Addie. I was truly hoping that she would meet her soulmate before him. At least now she can focus on what's really important. Maybe start travelling."

Eliza smiled, almost sadly. There it was.

"Anyway. Not coming with you," she said, turning her back on him and starting to walk away, clearly indicating that this conversation was over.

"Wait, 'Liza," he protested, "I came all the way to…"

"You don't fuckin' call me that!" Eliza snapped, spinning violently to face him. "My friends call me that! My family call me that! You're none of that, so you don't fuckin' _get_ to call me that!"

"I'm your soulmate!" he shouted, equally pissed. "Why do you keep refusing that? We'll always get back to each other, that's how it _is_! You're just retarding what's inevitable!"

What a moron, she thought. Well, if _he_ wanted to feel like that, it was his problem, but Eliza had been standing on her own two feet against the whole world since she was born. Just because it was supposedly a nature's rule didn't mean that she would do it. She may have been wrong about Bucky. The _world_ didn't have to bend in front of him, it was _people_ who had to. The world had obviously been shaped for him and people like him.

"We'll see," Eliza said. "I got to go to class. See you never."

Bucky sighed as she walked away. Even when she was being such a bitch, he felt just so attracted to her. He wanted to hold her, and he couldn't wait for it to finally happen, as it would necessarily. Nature always got her way.

And so did he.

It would be time for Eliza to understand that.

When Eliza came home that night, listening to the sample of the 'Zombie' band next song Bonzo had sent her, she found Zed fidgeting in front of her appartement. She immediately rushed towards him, placing herself between him and the door.

"What do you think you're doing here?" she asked raising a threatening eyebrow.

I mean, Eliza could look threatening _winking_. Of course her raising an eyebrow would be terrifying. Zed made no mistake about the way she looked at him, and gulped down.

"She's here, isn't she? She hasn't been returning my calls, 'Liza. I need to talk to her."

"Uhuh. What for?"

"I need to apologize."

"Oh no you do not," Eliza chuckled darkly.

"So if you could just let me… What?"

"You heard me, Z. You're not getting in here to apologize. You're not discharging yourself from that guilt and you're not making her feel bad for being angry at you, nor for not being able to be happy for you. She's hurt. And it may not really be your fault, but it sure ain't hers either. So you're not getting in here."

Zed was about to protest and defend herself when the door opened.

"Eliza, is everything oka-"

Addie stopped and froze when she saw Zed, who had visibly flinched when he had seen her. When their eyes met, it felt as if everything was the same, until Zed looked away, embarrassed, and Addie's world collapsed. Once more.

Eliza didn't waste any time. She pushed Addie inside and, as soon as the door was closed, whispered to her friend, "Do you want to talk to him?"

"Are you kidding? I haven't showered today and my hair looks terrible and…"

"Addie, that's not the point."

She knew she had done a mistake when she saw that Addie was about to burst into tears.

"I _know_ , Eliza, I just… I just can't believe this is happening."

She then looked up to Eliza, silently pleading. It felt like she was begging when a small, pathetic "I don't want to talk to him" escaped from her lips.

"You don't have to," Eliza said gently. "Now go take a shower."

"I don't…"

"My house, my rules. And, Addie… That can't destroy you. I won't allow it."

Addie smiled. Eliza, heartbreak scourge. She nodded. Eliza waited for her to be in the bathroom to reopen the door.

Zed was still out there, looking miserable. He was looking down, at his feet, and it took a few seconds for Eliza to realize he was crying.

"Zed?" she asked, surprised.

He quickly wiped his eyes and shook his head before looking at her. He had successfully put on his usual mask, but Eliza was still pretty surprised.

"Zed, what's…"

"I got to go, Eliza." He was too formal. She didn't like that. "I'll see you later!"

He was already walking down the stairs when she yelled "Wait, Zed! What was…"

"Don't ask, 'Liza. Just, please. Don't ask."

He was unusually serious. Eliza bit her lip, and nodded. Okay. She wouldn't ask. Not now, at least. But she had to find out what was going on there.

She let Zed go away, sighed loudly, and went back to her appartement. She took a few notes on her day in her notebook. She didn't always do that, but she wanted to get as much informations on soulmates as she could, and boy, had today been rich in that sense.

When Addie got out from the bathroom, she gave her a small smile.

"I'm going to go back to my place, Eliza."

"Your sure?" Eliza asked, frowning. "I don't mind you being here if you need to."

"I know, and I appreciate that, but you're right. I can't let that destroy me."

"As you wish," Eliza capitulated. "But I'm here if you need anything, you know that, right?"

"I know that," Addie smiled and nodded.

Eliza watched her walk out the door and took her head in her hands. She slowly massaged her temples, and for a second, she thought it would be nice to be alone. It would be nice if Bucky set his hand on her shoulder and offered to give her a shoulder massage or to make her a cup of coffee, or kissed her cheeks or…

She needed to stop. She needed to stop that _now_.

She almost ran to her room to put on some music, loud, and grabbed her computer to get back to work.

Work Eliza. Don't think.

Or be destroyed.

* * *

 _Here is your fortnightly dose of angst! I hope you've enjoyed this new chapter. You must have a loooot of questions right now... And they'll probably be answered soon, but for now, you're more than welcome if you want to pour it in the reviews. I want to thank you once more for the support I've been given for this story; without it I don't think I would have written anything past the prologue, so thank you so much for that. I'd like to thank the one who silently follow my story as well, it's pleasing to know I can make you curious with my work._

 _Please leave a review on this chapter to let me know what you think!_ _I will see you in two weeks._

 _Dya._

 _Chrissy: thanks for reviewing! I really love Eliza too, I'm very happy to be writing so much on her in this story, and I'm glad you enjoyed the way I view her, she really gave me strong feelings during the movie. As for Bucky, well, this chapter did give you some informations, and I promise more will be revealed soon!_

 _For other guest reviewers, don't forget to type a pseudo so I can recognize you next time!_


	4. What's Real?

Addie thought leaving Eliza's apartment was a bad idea all the time it took her to go back to her house, and even more so once she had opened the door and stepped inside. She heard her parents talk and she felt a twinge of pain in her chest. Her parents. Soulmates. Of course. There was no way she could escape from her reality.

Slowly, as she was not eager at all to join them and have to tell them what had just happened, she hung her scarf and her coat. That's when she noticed a third voice, which she quickly identified as Bucky's, her cousin. The realization managed to bring a smile to her lips, a smile that soon faded.

Bucky had been one of the people who had opposed the most strongly to her relationship with Zed. Not that anyone had really supported them, except for Eliza, Bree and Bonzo, but Bucky had been… Harsh. He had almost kicked her off the cheerleading team, and she was pretty sure he was also behind the problems Zed had had in the football team at the same period.

Even now, she had no idea why he had stepped back, but he had, and despite herself, Addie had found herself drawn to him again. Bucky was an ass most of the time, sure, but he was the kind of person whose interest and affection mean a lot. There was a reason why he was literally worshiped through high school, after all.

Addie gulped down, the joy of seeing her cousin suddenly vanishing.

She didn't know if she would be able to take it.

He had said that her relationship with Zed was meaningless, he had called her pathetic for pursuing it after all, he had insinuated the worst about Zed just because he wasn't from their side of town, and once, Zed, despite being the nicest guy she knew, had punched him. That had earned him hours of detention, and Bucky had gotten away with nothing.

She wasn't sure she could handle his words right now. She knew what he would say, and honestly she was so lost and so hurt that she couldn't tell whether he'd be right or wrong, but she refused to hear it. She needed to believe that what Zed and her had shared had been real. Had been true. Had meant something to him as much as it had to her.

She closed her eyes, wishing for the pain to go away. She couldn't, she shouldn't. If she pictured his smile, the loving look in his eyes, if she imagined the way he said her name; and worst, if she remembered the way his hands touched her body, the way he kissed her like he was discovering her for the first time every time, how emotional he seemed when she was the one to make a move, how happy and yet surprised he appeared when she told him she loved him,…

Shit. She was crying again.

She quickly wiped her eyes, wishing for it to stop.

But that's not how it works. She huddled up under the coat stand, in the entrance, and cried, trying to stay as silent as possible. She was thankful that no one had heard her walking in, and even more thankful when, after ten minutes, once she had managed to calm herself down, she was able to go to the kitchen first to wash her face.

"Hi!" she called out with a cheerful tone that sounded terribly fake to her.

"Oh, hi, Addie, honey!" her mother answered with the same tone. Addie bit her lip and closed her eyes. Her mother hadn't noticed. Were her parents ever paying any attention to her? Immediately after the thought bolted through her mind, she reprimanded herself. She couldn't blame other people for not knowing what she did her best to hide.

"Bucky was just telling her that you broke up with that guy, Zed, wasn't it?" her father said like he would have said that he had gotten a promotion, making her freeze while he kept going, "That's good news, really. If he had been your soulmate, I'd have let it slide, but the boy was trash."

Addison was in too much shock to snap at what he had said. In a daze, she dried her hands and her face and walked towards the living-room where they all were. Bucky flashed her a bright smile before going back to his conversation about his cheerleading team, and Addie stared at him in disbelief. She couldn't believe it. She just couldn't. She refused to admit that they cared so little of her relationship just because Zed wasn't her soulmate.

They disgusted her, she realized. All of them. She scoffed and turned on her heels to go to her room.

"Addie," her father said with a disapproving tone, "you could stay with your cousin."

She royally ignored him and slammed the door of her room behind her. Her mom shook her head.

"She must have had a bad day, Bucky, please excuse her."

"Oh don't worry, I get that," Bucky answered with the charming smile that made him the perfect nephew he was, "college can be so exhausting."

Addie broke down almost immediately after having closed the door. She would have given anything to find oblivion, to go to sleep once more, right now. And yet, she somehow knew she wouldn't be getting any relief tonight. She curled up in a ball right behind her door and simply stayed there, as the tears wet her cheeks.

* * *

"Did you see her?" Annalisa asked when Zed walked in.

Zed looked at her and smiled, brushing off the slight discomfort that passed through him.

"No, my friend 'Liza wouldn't let me," he answered, chuckling at the thought of Eliza's attitude, because it was just so… Eliza.

"Huh," Annalisa mumbled. "She sounds quite bitchy, that girl. I mean, that's only between you and… Allie, right? She has no right to get involved."

Zed tensed at her words, and turned towards her, intending to reply sharply, but he stopped himself. What was wrong with him? He wasn't going to start shit with his soulmate. After all, if it wasn't for her, he would still be with Addison, so he'd better make it worth it, right?

At the thought of Addison, his chest tightened in a painful way, and the discomfort he had felt before came back in a stronger way.

"Well, that's Eliza," he said with a forced smile. "She's a bit of a watchdog sometimes, but she's quite amazing when you get to know her."

Annalisa smiled and tiptoed to peck him on the lips. He had to fight the urge to step back.

"I can't wait for that, then."

The kiss was short, and Zed tried to forget how _wrong_ it felt. Sure, it sent a powerful emotion to his stomach, but… He blinked and cast the thought away. Soon, he was leaning in to kiss her, and that kiss lasted. She chuckled and wrapped her arms around him.

She was too tall, Zed thought as she deepened the kiss. He couldn't hold her right.

* * *

Eliza woke up with a start and put her hand over her chest, wishing for her heart to calm down quickly. With Bucky back in town, of course she would get another dream.

Those dreams used to be so nice when she was a teenager. Before she knew him. She used to wake up with that delightful heartbeat and with a smile on her face. She'd then spend a good part of her day thinking of him, and of how happy they would be once they'd found each other. Of course, if someone teased her, she'd deny it.

Now, it made her sick.

She jumped out of bed and nearly ran to the shower. In the dream, Bucky's hands had touched her hips, her stomach, her neck. She wanted to wash all of that away.

She rubbed her skin a bit harder than she needed to in the shower, and happily welcomed other thoughts. She would have to call Addie today, to check on her. With her terrible parents, the evening may not have been really pleasant, she thought. She was also supposed to rehearse with Zed and Bonzo at Bonzo and Bree's place. That was the biggest unknown of the day. It could go well. Or not.

She got out of the shower, vaguely attempted to dry her hair and tied it up in her usual high ponytail. Checking herself in the mirror, she noticed that the black roots of her hair was showing. She'd have to henna her hair again soon.

She quickly texted Addison on her way out and started walking towards the college. She was in a good mood, quite surprisingly, and if Bucky attempted to meet her on her way, she would punch him without any hesitation.

He didn't, though. As always, he managed to get her at the worst moment, and that is, when she couldn't get away.

She was sitting in the scientific section on the library, taking notes on various books on soulmates and rewriting her other classes, because she liked to be doing several things at the same time in order not to get bored when Bucky sat next to her.

"Hi, 'Liza."

It seriously made her _sick_ when he used that nickname. Yet, she couldn't help the twist in her stomach when he said it. Fuck, _she_ made herself sick.

She didn't look up, but when he reached to touch her shoulder, she moved out of the way abruptly, and some of her books fell loudly on the ground. She did not care, but Bucky frowned and stood to pick them up. She watched him closely as he did so. She was not letting him get close from her - not again, not this time.

"What are you doing here, Bucky?" she asked coldly.

"Oh, come on, Lizzie," he protested, rolling his eyes, "you _know_ that. I'm just waiting for you to understand. You'll come to me eventually."

Well, some things never changed - like him being an arrogant asshole. Yet, she could, of course, not deny the attraction between them. Their bodies always seemed to lean towards one another, like they were each other's centre of gravity. Even now, she felt electrified by facing him. The air between them felt heavy, and just the feeling of his eyes on her set her on fire.

"We had a good time, didn't we?" Bucky asked, reaching for her cheek.

 _Just this once, Eliza…_

She allowed him to touch her, and immediately a pleasant feeling spread in her body.

And Bucky started leaning towards her with a satisfied smile.

She knew how the kiss would feel. She knew she would feel oh, so whole, and electrified, and that for a moment, dopamine would make her feel amazing. She knew after that, she'd probably try again to be with Bucky. Like she had done what felt like a million times by now.

Yet she let him.

The second his lips touched hers, she melted into his arms, and so did he. The kiss, meant to be gentle, lost any form of calmness. It was only him and her, trying to become one. He was panting by the time she set back, her legs trembling. She glanced around, but they were alone, and no one had noticed.

"Eliza…"

Hearing him say her name sent a shiver down her spine. It always did. And looking in his eyes and see his genuine affection drove her crazy too. She knew, Bucky being Bucky, how much it meant for him to behave like that with her.

She stepped back, hesitating, but he didn't let go of her wrist and brought her close to him again. For once, Eliza had lost any form of sarcasm or rejoinder.

"We should try it again," he said.

No, they shouldn't. It wouldn't end differently. That was just what Bucky did. He made her feel like that, sure, he was a cheerleader for a reason. But that didn't mean their relationship would be good. She quickly stepped back again, breaking free from his grip.

"Gotta go," she mumbled. "The band… Hum… Rehearsal… Zombie… Bye!"

He let her go, confused. "Zombie? What on earth is she talking about?"

Eliza quickly got out of the library and started walking towards Bonzo's place. It was pretty far away - it was literally on the other side of the city - but she didn't want to wait for bus and risk running into Bucky again. Plus, she had left the library much earlier than she thought she would, and so she had plenty of time to get there.

 _Think, Eliza._

 _Please, think._

She took a deep breath, trying to make the relaxation exercises she had practiced for years. And she started running.

* * *

"I can't do that anymore."

Bucky looked up. Eliza was at the door. He stood, walking towards her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's over."

He laughed nervously.

"It can't be over. We're soulmates."

"And I don't give a fuck," she stopped. Truth was, he made her sick. He and his ideas. He and the way he viewed society. She had tried to talk about it with him, but she couldn't agree to disagree. Not anymore.

"Goodbye, Bucky."

The door closed slowly behind her.

* * *

Eliza's eyes stayed dry all the way to Bonzo and Bree's place. The further she got from Bucky, the better she felt. She knocked on their door, breathless, and Bonzo opened almost immediately, bringing her into a crushing hug. She protested, because it would not be said that she was going soft, but she couldn't help the bright smile on her face.

"Zed isn't here yet?" she asked, taking off her coat and walking in.

"No," Bree answered, coming to greet her, "but you _are_ half an hour early."

Eliza gave her a smile. Her relationship with Bree was very different from the one she shared with Addie, probably because Bree was very different. She was very nice and outgoing, but she was the type to give up if she didn't feel like she had a chance - unlike Addie. That had irked Eliza in the beginning, but she had gotten over it.

Bree and Bonzo lived together at Bonzo's place. The only other person in the house with them was Bonzo's grandmother, who spent most of her time in her room.

"He mentioned he would bring his soulmate," Bree said with a concerned face. "Have you seen Addie?"

Eliza nodded. "She spent a night at my place."

"I mean, I'm happy for Zed and all but… Poor Addie," Bree sighed, shaking her head. Bonzo made a sad noise at those words. Eliza smiled bitterly. Sure, they were sad for Addie, and she wouldn't have expected anything else from Bree, but at the same time she was annoyed by her simple acceptance of the situation. She was merely letting things be.

That was something Eliza didn't like, and yet she couldn't bring herself to just get angry at her, which was actually what she usually did.

Eliza sat at the table across Bonzo and they spent their time waiting for Zed discussing. Well, discussing might not be the exact word. Bonzo was actually deaf and talking was hard for him. He used a hearing aid most of the time, the one major exception being when the band was rehearsing. Zed and Eliza both agreed that this made for very interesting results when they played - Bonzo was playing drums.

When Zed came in, the first thing he said was "We're here!"

Bree bit her lip and Eliza didn't try to hold back a snarl. Bonzo simply stood to greet his best friend, and that's when Eliza heard Annalisa's voice for the first time.

"Oh, you must be Bonzo! It's _so_ nice to meet you! I'm Annalisa!"

She immediately hated it. It was petty from her, sure, but she had already decided she disliked Annalisa.

When Annalisa walked in, Bree held out her hand and shook hers vigorously with a bright, yet slightly forced smile, while Eliza examined her critically. She was tall, she had brown hair and was wearing a System of A Down sweatshirt. Well, just because she had good musical tastes didn't make her a decent human being, she told herself with patent insincerity.

Annalisa seemed more ill-at-ease when she arrived in front of her, and Eliza wondered if Zed had told her about the night before. Zed also tensed when the two girls met, but Eliza, despite wearing a very fake smile on her face, stayed very polite.

It didn't take long before the band reunited in Bonzo's garage. Bree quickly fled the scene - it was well-known that she was _not_ into that kind of music - and Annalisa sat down in front of them. Her and Zed exchanged a loving smile that really put Eliza on edge, but she didn't say anything. She grabbed her guitar, Zed went behind the mic, Bonzo sat behind the drums, and they started to play.

The magic worked almost immediately. One moment there was silence, the next, harmony. That rehearsal wasn't planned to create a new piece, but rather not to get too rusty before the concert the next week.

But then, the tune changed.

The first couple of songs were Eliza's super political compositions.

However, once these ended, they started playing love songs. Those that were so impregnated with Addie's image.

Zed started making mistakes. He missed a beat here and there, he forgot the lyrics, he sang off-key - which was something he virtually never did -, he wasn't into it. When they started _Some day_ for the third time and he made a mistake on the second line, _A girl and a zombie_ , Eliza snapped. The first thing she did was put the guitar down, because she didn't want to damage it.

"What the fuck, Zed?" she hissed.

Zed was tensed. He seemed out of it, confused. In another situation, Eliza might have reacted differently and tried to understand what was going on in his head, but she had had a _terrible_ day, and she was not wanting to take this shit.

"Let's do it again," he said without even looking at Eliza.

Bonzo put his hearing aid back on and looked at them, frowning. He didn't hear Zed's mistakes, but he _felt_ them through the vibrations, through Eliza's reactions, and it impacted his playing strongly.

"Not before we've discussed that," Eliza said, folding her arms on her chest.

That position usually meant that she would not be moved, no matter what, and that if people wanted things to go back to moving, they'd better listen. They weren't always aware of it, but Zed fully was, and so his attempts to escape it were both stupid and incomprehensible.

Annalisa ended up standing and trying to defend Zed. And oh boy, what a mistake that was…

"Listen, sugar," Eliza said with a patronizing voice, "you have nothing to do with that." She looked up to Zed. "Or does she? Do you have problems singing about your ex-girlfriend because of her?"

"Eliza," Zed suddenly reacted after being not responsive for so long, "let me deal with that, okay?"

Oh hell no.

"Yeah, I'm going to do just that. I'm going to sweep Addie under the carpet, just like you. We should all forget her! It's not like she was our friend, like she supported us, like…"

"You can't possibly compare what he had with a _fling_ and the link between us!" Annalisa protested. "I'm his _soulmate_!"

"So what?" Eliza shouted. Annalisa didn't notice the dark look Zed gave her when she called Addison a fling, but she stepped back towards him at Eliza's anger.

"'Liza," Zed pleaded, "she's right, the attraction between two soulmates is irresistible."

"No, it's not!" Eliza yelled. "You just think it is, so you're giving in! Try to _think_ about it, Zed!"

"Why would he?" Annalisa muttered. "He has _me_!"

Eliza rolled her eyes.

"You know what? I'm out of here."

Zed watched her leave with a strange feeling in his chest. For the first time, he wondered if Eliza had met her soulmate.

For the first time, too, he allowed the thought of Addie to enter his mind. He recalled her smile, her laugh, and the feelings became completely overwhelming.

For the first time, he thought that maybe, just maybe, him finding his soulmate didn't mean that things were over between them.

* * *

 _And here you go! I'll see you again in two weeks! (for those of you who wonder when that'll be, it's the 3rd of May) Also, everything will be revealed on Bucky and Eliza's relationship, I promise, just give it some time. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter, I'm pretty curious about how you feel with all the progression made in here._

 _Dya._

 _Grace: Yeah Addie's breaking my heart too (what do you mean, it's entirely my fault she's going through that? I have no idea what you mean). I can't tell you the ending, actually, but there is definitely still a chance for them as you probably saw here :3_

 _(EDIT for a format problem)_


	5. It's Not Over Yet

Addison felt empty. She had no words to describe how hollow she was on the inside, how close she was from breaking down every second. She had no idea how her body could still be functional. How she could not have crumbled yet, how the black hole she felt had not swallowed every part of her being.

What killed her was that no one noticed. She had intended to pretend that everything was alright in front of her parents and in front of Bucky, who had dropped at their place again the day before to eat dinner with them. He had a bright and unusual smile on his face - not a smirk, not a grin, but a genuine happy smile - that Addie didn't understand. But no one noticed how terrible Addie actually was.

And Addie knew it was because no one even _imagined_ that she could be feeling bad. They hadn't even considered it; it had never gone through their mind that she had a broken heart.

Addie was not stupid, she knew she would - probably - get over it. She would meet her soulmate at some point, and then she would feel just as dumbly happy as Zed was. But for now, she felt like she was dying. Each step, each breath hurt like hell.

Yet she ate with her parents and she slept through another night. When she woke up, she thought that maybe the worst part from going through a break up was that you stay alive after it. If you died, or even better, if the world stopped spinning, it would show you how much what you had was special and important. Instead, she was forced to understand that not only it wasn't that special or important, but she had been replaced.

She knew that that girl - Annalisa - was Zed's soulmate, and that she was being unfair to their story by saying he had replaced her, but that was true. That was the only word that could possibly describe what was going on.

She went to college after dressing herself up. She was arriving on the campus when she received a call from Eliza. She hesitated, and decided not to pick up. She was not in a good enough emotional state, and she refused to break down into tears over the phone. If she _had_ to break down, she at least wanted to be face to face with her friend.

She had received texts from Bree, and the girl had actually managed to bring a smile on her face. She was closer from Bree than she was from Eliza, to be honest, but she couldn't help that feeling that Bree _just didn't understand_. And somehow, she thought that Eliza did. Which was a bit of a surprise, because Eliza wasn't exactly known for her empathy. For the first time, Addie wondered why Eliza had not gone on a trip around the world to find her soulmate. She had always thought that it was because she had too many responsibilities, and that she was too busy, but maybe there was more to it.

After a few seconds, she texted Eliza, offering to meet at noon and to eat together, to which Eliza replied with a simple 'OK' - which was a very 'Eliza' thing to do. It made Addie smile, but she had to stop smiling as soon as she saw the many calls from Zed. He had stopped after their encounter, at Eliza's apartment, but for some reason, he had called her again and again the night after that. She had no idea as to the reason why. From what she knew, Zombie had had a rehearsal, so maybe he had left some partitions at her place and he wanted them back - she'd have to check.

One more thing she would miss. Zombie. It wasn't like she could just show up at her ex's band's rehearsal, right?

And then it hit her.

Yes, she could.

Because now, she didn't mean anything to Zed. She wasn't really an ex, not now that he was with his soulmate. She was a blurry, worthless memory.

She was going to cry.

She had the time to run to the toilets and to lock herself in there before she broke down. She cried for a while. She begged her brain to let got of that idea, to forget, she tried as hard as she could not to think about it. It didn't work.

She checked her watch. If she didn't leave _now_ , she'd be late for class. She quickly rearranged her hair and splashed some water on her face, and went to class as if nothing had happened. There, she met Lacey, one of Bucky's friends, who used to be a cheerleader as well. She knew, for sure, that Lacey was aware of her break-up with Zed. There was no way Bucky would have not told her.

Or maybe he hadn't, she realized. If he hadn't, it meant that he didn't even consider it to be important enough for a gossip. If he had and she wasn't mentioning it, it meant that she didn't think it was important enough. In both cases, Addie was once again struck by how much people didn't care for her and Zed, in the end. Just because they weren't soulmates.

And yet, if there was one thing she couldn't - she wouldn't - let go of, it was their love. They had loved each other. Truly. Hell, she still loved him. And the feeling was actually so beautiful, so pure, that it made her feel slightly better. No, their relationship hadn't been worthless. If people around her couldn't see that love was love, even between two non-soulmates, it was their problem.

That thought kept her going through her classes, and when she met Eliza, she was somewhat rested. She was not _better_ , her heart was still shattered in a thousand pieces and she still thought that she would never love again, but that kind of things was expected after the end of such a long relationship, particularly since it was not a mutual decision.

"Hi, 'Liza!" she greeted cheerfully, finding the girl sitting in a corner of the cafeteria.

Eliza looked up from her notebook and gave her a surprised smile.

"Hi, Addie?" she answered like she was asking a question. "Are you okay?"

Addison's smile immediately flickered, and it took her a few seconds to reconstruct it again, as she sat down.

"What do you think?" she whispered. She wasn't being agressive. Her tone was just terribly sad. She saw Eliza closing her eyes, and she guessed that her friend felt guilty for even asking. While she didn't want her to feel guilty, it made her extremely happy, in a selfish way that she immediately felt ashamed for. But having someone who was finally acknowledging her pain felt… good.

"So, erm… How did last night's rehearsal go?" Addison asked, looking down.

Eliza scoffed, and Addie bit her lip. She had asked, but she wasn't sure she actually wanted to know.

"Did you talk to Zed?" Eliza asked.

Addison looked up, surprised.

"What? No! I mean, he called, like eight times last night-" (he had called exactly thirteen times) "- but I never picked up the phone, I won't give him that pleasure." (she thought she was absolutely not able to hear his voice without breaking into tears or yelling at him and she didn't want either)

"Hm," Eliza mumbled.

"Why?" Addie asked carefully when Eliza didn't keep going.

"Because Zed was a mess last night," Eliza finally answered after what felt like an agonizingly long silence for Addie. "He messed all of our love songs. He just couldn't get them right. He sang off-key, and he proved to be incapable to sing more than three of _Some day_ 's lines."

Addie's eyes widened. _Some day_ was… It was their song. Truth be told, to even think that he would sing it to another girl, or simply singing about another girl would have tore her apart. She cursed herself for feeling happy about what Eliza had said, and she cursed herself once more when she understood that her friend's words were giving her _hope_.

Hope for what? Zed was with his soulmate, and even in their craziest dreams, when they were talking about how terrified they were of being found by their soulmates, they had never said that they would be able to stay together afterwards. Hope was stupid, hope was useless, hope would only break her heart again. And yet, she wasn't able to push it away completely.

"You know what's happening right now?" Eliza asked while playing with her glass.

Her words snapped Addie out of her reverie. "Erm, no?" she asked, blinking, slightly confused.

"Dopamine's effect is becoming less and less important."

"That's… good?"

Eliza gave her a smile. "Dopamine is also known as the pleasure hormone. That's what makes you feel good when you… do sports, or eat chocolate, or whatever."

"I don't get it," Addie admitted. She knew how smart Eliza was and she had no shame in not always being able to follow her. She was aware of the fact that Eliza actually appreciated her honesty - Eliza hated it when people just assumed she was a haughty bitch who refused to explain stuff because she wanted to feel like she was the smartest.

"When you meet your soulmate and when you're around them, you start producing much more dopamine. It's your brain telling you that you're doing the right thing. Since the level can't stay insanely high forever, it goes back down to what you get when you're in love. Except that…"

"Except that Zed was in love with me," Addie whispered, slowly realizing what it meant.

Eliza nodded, but she looked concerned, and Addie understood that she couldn't rejoice herself too much.

"So now he's in love with two persons," she said. Her shoulders dropped and something seemed to die in her eyes.

"I don't know," Eliza said. "I've never read anything on that before. And even if I had, if there wasn't a thorough study, I wouldn't be able to trust it. I'm sorry, Addie. This is too specific for my knowledge."

Addie failed at giving her a confident fake smile. She just felt… tired. A part of her was telling her that if there was even the slightest chance for Zed and her, she should pursue it. But the rest of her was just exhausted. She had fought for this relationship for years - hell, she had fought for this relationship _before_ there even was a relationship! She was the one who had voiced that possibility for the first time, all these years ago.

It had taken them a year after the mention of that crazy idea to actually act on it, and they had almost dropped it immediately after. Zed had been fired from the football team, and Bucky had thrown Addie off of the cheerleading squad. They both thought it was worth it, though, and despite the hard times and their near break-up at that time, they had stayed together.

And then, for some mysterious reason that Addie still hadn't figured out, Bucky had re-hired her and the headmistress had told Zed, every word ripped from her mouth one by one, that he could rejoin the football team.

Addie shook her head at the memory. Now was not the time to remember how Zed had won the tournament, how he had kissed her after the final game, how they had left the prom in the middle of it to go to Zombietown, a big rock festival, and how he had made her dance back then, nor how they had been crowned king and queen when they weren't even there - and they weren't even soulmates. Back then, she had hoped they would make people understand that it was possible to date someone who wasn't your soulmate.

Now… Now she wasn't so sure. She didn't wish to anyone to go to what she experiencing right now.

But the hope they had sparked off, the love they had felt, those two feelings were the realest she had ever seen. And she didn't really want to give up on them.

Her eyes fell on Eliza, who seemed just as lost in her thoughts as she was. She hesitated a couple seconds before asking "Why didn't you leave to try and find your soulmate?" Eliza jumped at the world soulmate, making Addie chuckle. "I mean, I know you're always busy and fighting for causes and everything, but no one would blame you."

Eliza understood that Addie was somewhat trying to lighten the mood, but it didn't really work for her. She gave her a tensed smile and shrugged. "Oh well, y'know, I guess I'm just not that much of a romantic. If he or she wants to get a piece of me, they'd better be the one to look for me, 'cause I ain't moving!" she smiled once more, more sincerely. "You're right though. I have better things to do. And people wouldn't blame me, but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

Hell, she wouldn't be able to look at herself in the mirror. She hadn't been able to, back then.

Addie blinked at the change of mood. She didn't know why, but Eliza suddenly didn't look so good. She was about to insist when she noticed the time. She cursed under her breath, apologized, and left in a hurry. She was going to be late.

Eliza didn't really pay attention to her, lost in the past. What was she even _thinking_?

* * *

"Are you fuckin' serious?" she yelled at the top of her lungs, walking in on the cheerleading practice.

Bucky Machtsmann, cheerleading captain and Seabrook's alpha male, turned towards her and looked at her like she was a cockroach. But it would have taken much more than that to deter her.

"And you are…?"

"I'm your cousin _and_ her boyfriend's best friend, and I'll ask only one more fuckin' time, are you _serious_?" she yelled, planting herself firmly in front of him. She was smaller than him, but she wasn't _that_ small, and he was actually slightly impressed.

Looking at him sparked something in Eliza's chest, something she immediately tried to conceal, as she had done successfully for the past year and a half. It had been that long since she had found out he was her soulmate, and she had done a great job at avoiding him successfully. But being that close to him reminded her of the truth. Harshly.

Stupidly, she had observed him. She had thought that he wasn't such a bad guy, that he was hardworking, and that yeah, he was arrogant, but he also had insecurities. She had seen Addison and Zed talk to him about their feelings for each other, she had seen him somewhat convinced, she had witnessed him doubt everything he was taught and then… She had seen him deciding not to act on it. Which made him something that she profoundly despised.

It made him a _coward_. He was willing to let two of the nicest people she knew get hurt and mocked because he was too scared to stand up for them. That was the one thing she couldn't forgive. He could pretend all he wanted, but she knew somewhere, deep down, he believed Zed and Addison. He just didn't want to shake his little world.

He towered over her, clearly trying to scare her.

"I am serious, yes. They're freaks. It's not normal to date someone who isn't your soulmate," he scoffed. "It's _disgusting_. And so are they. Now, if you don't mind…"

"Oh but see, I do mind," she spat. "What about ya, still haven't find your soulmate…?"

Bucky's eyes widened. Could it be…? He grabbed her arm and started dragging her behind him, while he dismissed practice with a couple words, leaving the team very confused. As soon as he was alone with Eliza, he turned towards her and confronted her eagerly.

"You know her? Wait, you're… friends with her? She told you about me? Why didn't she come to me? I've been looking for her for a year and half!"

She stared at him in disbelief. Wow. _Wow_. He didn't even think it could be her.

She took one step towards him and she kissed him.

It was the first time she experienced being that close of her soulmate, the first time she experienced the magic rush of pleasure, of almost pure joy that flood through her. She hadn't really planned on kissing him. It just… happened. Somehow. She didn't think she could help that desperate longing for him one second more.

Everything disappeared. There were just him and her, pressed against each other.

She ended up taking a step back and he looked at her, trembling. His mouth was gaping open and he couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence. Fortunately, it gave her enough time to start thinking again. Thinking had been her way to resist the attraction that pulled her towards him, and once more, rationality brought her back to herself.

"Well if you want to have even a _chance_ with me, you'd better do something for them, 'cause I don't do cowards. If they're freaks for being together, what would it make of someone who can't even be with his _soulmate_?"

And with those words, she walked out.

* * *

Eliza shivered at the memories. She really, really didn't feel good about that. She didn't like admitting it to herself, but what she had done was definitely manipulation. She had even used soulmates stereotypes to push Bucky into rehabilitating Addison, and that was just wrong, no matter how much of a scumbag Bucky could be.

Still, she was worried about Addison and Zed. Rationality and thoughts had been what had kept her afloat, and away from Bucky. But where there was love, and there was definitely love between Addie and Zed, or at least there had been, there was no rationality. Would love be enough to bring her two friends back together? She certainly hoped so. She wanted them to have the happy ending they deserved.

But she wasn't sure whether or not they would get it.

* * *

Addie was walking home after the longest day of her life. She had not been able to stop the thoughts from invading her head, and it had left her tired. Something inside of her, that had manifested itself during the conversation with Eliza kept telling her that there was no use in fighting. What was she even doing it for, after all? She should just stop.

And then, as she walked over the bridge, she saw the tall form sitting on the railing, their back curved.

For a second, she thought she was hallucinating. She tended to see Zed everywhere, these days. But as she walked closer, she couldn't doubt it anymore.

It was him. It was his tall body, his shoulders, his green hair, his nonchalant attitude. She was getting close from him, but he hadn't noticed her yet.

Her body started to shake. He used to wait for her here. Before. How could he…. How could he be there like nothing had happened? Did he really not care for how it would make her feel?

"Zed?" she called out. A part of her hoped it wasn't him, that she was wrong.

But he turned his head towards her and quickly jumped from his perch before running towards her. She had seen that so many times before and it had never made her that sad.

He always ran to meet her.

"Addie," he greeted her when they got face to face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, immediately cursing herself for her trembling voice and the hope she had put in those words.

"I-I wanted to talk to you," he stuttered, looking down and rubbing the back of his head. "Listen, about Anna…" She felt a twinge of pain in her chest. He already called her by her nickname then? "I-I don't know where I'm at right now, Addie…"

He moved his hand towards hers, like he was looking for some comfort, but she backed off. What kind of game was he playing?

"What are you doing, Zed?" she had intended her voice to be sharp, but it sounded more pleading to her ears. "You met your soulmate. We knew it would happened. I… I don't understand what you're trying to accomplish by _ambushing_ me here."

Zed blinked. He started by looking down at his hand like he didn't know what had possessed that part of his body. He then looked back at Addie, his mouth open, and started to shake his head slowly.

"I didn't mean to ambush you, I… I just wanted to talk to you and you didn't answer my calls and…"

"And why did you think that was?" Addie almost yelled, tears threatening to fall from her eyes any time now.

"Addie…" he took a step towards her, and she immediately stepped back. It pained him to see her in that state. He wanted to hug her, to tell her everything was going to be okay. The pain in his chest was tearing him apart. He _ached_ to touch her and to comfort her. He needed it.

"Zed!"

Zed turned around to see Annalisa waving at him with a bright smile on his face, and a pleasant feeling warmed his chest - but it was far from enough to make him forget the pain. He turned to Addie and saw both hurt and anger on her face.

"You brought her here?" she asked sadly.

He hadn't. He wouldn't have done that. This place was their secret meeting, and he liked that. He didn't want to share it with someone other than her.

"This is not…"

"Goodbye, Zed," she said. "I hope you'll be happy. You deserve it."

And she walked away. Annalisa ran next to her and put her arms around Zed, chuckling. Zed smiled too, but his smile felt like he was just moving the muscles of his lips. It wasn't natural. He was just so confused. He was happy being with Annalisa, but he was pretty sure the pain of seeing Addie walk away outweighed that happiness by far. And he didn't understand that. Wasn't he supposed to be in love with his soulmate?

"You weren't coming back so I decided to come look after you and your dad told me you'd be here," Annalisa explained with a smile. "Who was that, by the way?"

Zed didn't answer, his eyes still staring at Addie's back.

Two hearts were broken that night.

* * *

 _Deep breaths, friends, deep breaths. I know I broke your Zeddison-shippers' hearts, but this is not over yet. This story will actually very likely be 7 chapters long, not counting the first one (because it was supposed to be a one-shot), so there will be three chapters after this one, and oh, so many things can happen in three chapters... Thank you for continuously supporting me, please let me know what you thought of this chapter!_

 _Dya._

 _Lya Carvalho: Don't worry about your english, it's not my first language either ;) Well, I hope this chapter helps you understand what is happening in everybody's head ^^_

 _Guest who said they hated the story at first: (erm, sorry, you didn't leave any name .) Well honestly I'm not surprised, I was actually surprised myself to get positive reviews because I expected that reaction to be the most common one x) I'm happy you got to enjoy my story nonetheless, I guess this chapter must have annoyed you even more and I hope you'll stick around for the final resolution ^-^_


	6. Coping

Zed woke up with a start in the middle of the night. Annalisa was lying in bed next to him and he got of bed, trying his bed not to wake her up. He couldn't deal with her right now. Actually, he wasn't sure he could deal with pretty much anyone right now. He locked himself in the bathroom and finally let out the trembling breath he'd been holding.

He tried to force himself to relax. His fist were clenched, and it felt like every muscle of his body was completely tensed. He noticed that his teeth were actually gritted too.

Why?

What had he been dreaming about?

Now that his soulmate was by his side, he was only ever supposed to dream about her. That was written in all biology books. Soulmates stopped making nightmares once they were together, and their nights were just filled with each other. Zed was fine with that, because it was better that way. He didn't want to remember… certain things at night.

Certain things.

Who was he kidding?

He didn't want to remember Addie at night. She was already present in most of his thoughts while he was awake, he didn't need the additional guilt in his sleep. Seeing her pain the day before… He couldn't stand it. He made himself wanna puke. He couldn't believe he had hurt her that much.

He knew it, all this time ago. He should never have started being with her. He should have refused, when she had invited him on that first date. Everyone had told him to - well, everyone except Eliza, but Eliza had always been quite the rebel.

But it was _Addie_. The blonde princess, the perfect cheerleader, his best friend, his light, his sun. He was already totally, desperately in love with her at the time.

What about now, though?

The answer should have been _so_ easy. It should have been an immediate 'No'. He shouldn't have to hesitate, let alone consider the answer could be 'Yes'. He had met his soulmate, something both Addie and him knew was meant to happen at some point. And once you met your soulmate, you were necessarily in love with them… Right?

During the long, anxious nights they had spent talking about it, neither Addie or him had doubted it. They had kept apologizing to the other, telling them how sorry they would be for hurting them, if they were the first to meet said soulmate.

Zed had no idea he would be this sorry.

He started crying.

 _Addie, Addie, Addie._

* * *

Moving on wasn't something easy to do, and Eliza knew a thing or two about it. How long had it been since the end of her 'relationship' with Bucky? A year and half? Two years?

And yet, when she walked in the Starbucks that day - use capitalism before you destroy it - and she saw him, laughing with his friends, her heart missed a beat. Knowing about how the soulmate system worked didn't help her, in the end. Because she was more than aware of the fact that she was genetically programmed to love him, and yet she just couldn't help herself. Her entire body was screaming to her to go to him.

She casually walked in the queue and got her cellphone out. Was she really going to pretend to be busy in order not to talk to him? Hell yeah.

She hesitated on what to do. She knew she should call Zed. She knew she was being terribly hypocritical about the entire situation. After all, she was blaming Zed for not doing something that she wasn't able to do correctly herself. And she had been working on it for _years_. Not to mention that Zed had no idea of what was actually happening to him, while she had read dozens of books on the process.

Zed was literally lost on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean, and she was refusing to pick an oar and to help him.

But at the same time, it wasn't like she was _wrong_. The person who was in the worst situation now was Addie, and for Zed to act like things were difficult for him just pissed her off. With a sigh, she dialed her friend's number.

" _Yeah?_ " a tired voice answered her.

"Hi there, Z. I'm just checkin' up on you. How're you doing?"

" _Oh, hi, 'Liza. Um, things are great, you know. Just getting ready for tomorrow's concert and all_."

 _Liar_.

"Good then. You talked to Addie?"

She heard him taking in a sharp breath.

" _Yes. No. It's complicated_."

Eliza wished she had been capable of laughing and teasing him, but she didn't find it in her. She was starting to feel torn. In the beginning, it had been easy, thinking that Zed and Annalisa were the villains and Addie the victim. Now, it wasn't that simple. Heck, even Annalisa, though she'd been hella annoying, didn't have anything to do with that.

Annalisa was a girl who had just found her soulmate.

And now, Eliza was starting to suspect that said soulmate wasn't in love with her.

"Wanna tell me about it?"

Zed sighed heavily.

" _I wanna see her,_ 'Liza," he whispered. " _I just want a day from our life before._ "

If he couldn't have a day, he'd settle for one hour. No, he'd settle for one of her smiles or one of her looks if he had to. Just to see those eyes looking at him like they used to.

He felt _so_ selfish. So disgusting. He wanted Addie more than anything else, but by doing so, he would only hurt both her and Annalisa. He didn't have the _right_ to want Addie. He didn't have the right to love her, not anymore. He had to let her go. Precisely because he loved her.

But then, if he loved her… What was the point of being with Annalisa? He knew the girl didn't have his problems. He was pretty sure that, for her, the soulmate magic had worked perfectly, and that she was in love with him - love at first sight, like what most soulmates experienced.

He was so fuckin' confused. He had never heard of anything like that, meeting your soulmate but still being in someone else. That never happened. Something just had to be wrong with him. Not a surprise though, huh? Something had always been wrong with him.

" _I gotta go, 'Liza. I'll see you tomorrow._ "

"See ya."

Eliza hung up with a frustrated hiss. She was finally in front of the cashier. She opened her mouth to order when Bucky came out of nowhere.

"It's okay, the lady already has everything she needs," he said, flashing a bright smile to the employee.

Without waiting for her reaction, Bucky dragged her towards his friends who were staring at her, confused and vaguely disapproving. She vaguely remembered them from high school. Never thought she'd have to see them again.

One of them, the boy, something-acey, eyed Bucky suspiciously before grinning.

"Hi there Eliza," he said. "I was wondering why Buck went out of his way to buy another cup of coffee, guess I have my answer now…"

Bucky ignored him and handed her the hot drink.

"There. Black coffee, no sugar."

He remembered. She looked up at him, and all of her previous revolutions seemed to shatter instantly. Why, oh why did he always do that to her?

"Staying with us, 'Liza?" he asked, casually offering her a seat.

She did her best to appear annoyed, but ended up shrugging and sitting with the small group. Bucky couldn't help but smiling as she did so. That was the Eliza he knew. She couldn't decently seem to be pleased by his actions, but he knew that deep down, she truly was.

Okay, _really_ deep down. But that was still something. And he was going to win her over again, and this time he wouldn't let go. Because just having her next to him felt so right.

Eliza was tensed in the beginning, but gradually allowed herself to feel better while sipping her drink. The conversation didn't require her to use her brain too much, which was quite a change, but she could enjoy it. Every once in a while, Bucky made an effort to include her in the conversation, and every time, the three others exchanged a glance that was both curious and very telling. Had they guessed? That would be funny. No one had known for the year and a half they had _actually_ spent together, and now they were probably on their way to finding out the truth.

Being with Bucky had been particular, to say the least, but they had had _so_ much fun keeping their relationship hidden. In the beginning, it was because of her. She had insisted, even if she didn't really know why. They both quickly got caught in the game. Hating each other openly when they met in the corridors, and finding each other for a heavy make out session later in the day, wherever. Locker rooms, toilets, cupboards. Everything was good.

Even on their first date it had been like that. Awkward at first, furious as soon as she brought up Zed and Addie, and then they had gotten in his car and suddenly she was sitting on him and kissing him furiously and his hands were gripping her and her hands were in his hair and his mouth on her neck and getting slower, slower…

"You really have beautiful hair, Eliza," one of the girls commented, bringing her back to reality.

"Oh," she said, surprised. "Um, thanks?" she really only had a messy ponytail, though…

That was when Bucky reached out to touch it. On a reflex, she moved back. Bucky chuckled.

"Come on, 'Liza, I'm not going to hurt you."

She froze when he actually touched her hair.

"Ah, yeah, I've always loved those."

Eliza's head was spinning. Bucky was still Bucky after all, right? He may remember how she drank her coffee, and he may be nice and sweet to her, but he just keep forgetting the important things.

He couldn't remember what she had explained to him about micro-agressions. And she wouldn't have minded him touching her hair, if he was her boyfriend, if he had asked, if he had respected her space. He also had decided, with that last sentence, to basically let his friends know about their past relationship, without asking her. He had never, ever been able to remember her band's name.

Because none of that mattered to him in the end. He didn't want to open his eyes on inequalities, he didn't want her opinions, and he thought that her being in a band didn't fit what he wanted. He liked arguing with her, but everything left his head as soon as they were having sex. He didn't really care about her. If they hadn't been soulmates, they wouldn't have lasted a week.

If they hadn't been soulmates, she would never have considered him, and truth be told, he would never, ever, in a million years, have considered her.

She knew that. She knew that since the very beginning, but Bucky just had to keep doing _this_ over and over and over again. Making her feel like maybe something was possible, and then taking it all away from her by reminding her that he would never be right for her.

That's when it hit her.

Addie and Zed were right for each other. They always worked so hard to make their relationship work, despite everybody's disapproval. They made each other happy. They also made each other miserable, right now.

If she had any chance to salvage that, she would take it. And if she couldn't salvage it, well, she could do something she hadn't really done yet. She could be a good friend to Zed.

"I'll get going," she said, standing up.

Bucky seemed both surprised and sad to hear her say that, but he nodded reluctantly.

"Okay. I'll see you soon?" There was so much hope in his voice that it physically hurt her. She knew that Bucky wanted to be with her, and a very, very big part of her wanted to be with him to, but there was no point in doing that.

"Yeah. We need to talk. I actually have a concert tomorrow night, too."

Bucky frowned.

"You don't have to come," Eliza said. "I'm just saying I can't make it tomorrow. In two days, maybe?"

"I'm always free for you, you know," he grinned.

She gave him a tensed smile and walked away with a small wave. She gripped her back tightly. She needed something to hold on to right now, or she was going to fall apart. Two days. She was giving herself two days.

And then, it would be time to end this masquerade.

* * *

It was a huge surprise for Addie to run into Annalisa, of all people, after her classes. She honestly just wanted to go home and to curl up in her bed into a big ball of pain and feelings. Annalisa was leaning against a wall, her eyes empty, and listening to music. However, she took her earphones out and started walking towards her as soon as she saw her.

Should she run away? Was she going to kill her? Some people really freaked out when they learned that their soulmates had had a relationship before them.

However, Addie being Addie, she did her best to gather her courage and walked in her direction, wearing a very fake smile that Annalisa didn't bother to return.

"Hi," Annalisa said.

"Hi!" Addie answered, pretending that she wasn't talking to the soulmate of the man she had been with for years and was still very much in love with. "Annalisa, right?" _Like I could forget that._ "What are you doing here? Visiting the town? Want me to show you arou…"

Annalisa simply rose a hand and Addie let her enthusiasm deflate. Annalisa seemed to be hesitating. She kept touching her hair, and finally managed to bring herself to speak.

"Zed's not doing good," she said.

Addie rose an eyebrow.

"Tonight he locked himself in the bathroom and he cried. He acts like everything's fine, but he's terrible at acting."

Addie smiled faintly. That he was. He was the worst liar she had ever met - but hearing Annalisa, who had only known him for a couple of days, say it, only made her heart ache more.

"It was pretty serious between you two, right?" Annalisa asked. She had always preferred not to beat around the bush.

"You could say that, yes," Addie whispered.

Annalisa sighed and ran her fingers through her hair once more. Then she gripped it like she wanted to pull them out and slowly, very slowly, loosened her grip on it. She was breathing heavily. Addie simply looked at her with surprise.

"I had no idea," Annalisa said. "No one has relationships before being with their soulmates, let alone serious ones. I didn't think for a second that…" She waved her hand. "Y'know. But maybe you guys should talk it out. Zed and you, I mean."

Addie bit her lower lip.

"You're not happy, he's not happy, and…" _And I'm not happy_. But she couldn't say that, could she? "I want Zed to be happy," she said after a silence that felt like hours.

And it was true. Annalisa was many things, many things that no one around here knew yet, and one of them was passionate. She could only love with her entire heart, and she could only give herself completely. She hadn't thought for a second that that would be a problem with her soulmate. She had been hurt in the past, yes, but with her soulmate… It was supposed to be different. It was supposed to be what everyone had.

Everyone had a soulmate, someone who completed them completely, and who would never leave them behind. Once she had met Zed, she had thought she had that now. She was falling from her cloud, and landing would hurt. Badly.

But there was still a chance, right? If Addie and Zed talked, maybe they'd have closure, right? Maybe Zed would pick her after all, right? Right?

"You're right," Addie said, making her look up quickly. "Zed and I need to talk. I'm sorry I dragged that out."

Oh gosh, and Addie was such a sweet person. There was no way she could hate her, no way she could blame her. Annalisa and Zed were meant to be, theoretically speaking, and she would have expected to hate anyone who came in between them, but she couldn't hate Addie, as much as she'd have loved to. It would have been so much easier, if Addie had just been a blonde cheerleading bitch…

"Good," Annalisa said with a sharp nod. "Well. Maybe I'll see you around"

With those words, she almost ran away, but she couldn't escape the little voice in her head who kept nagging her. Because maybe Zed and Addie wouldn't want closure after their talk. And she knew it, she knew it, she knew it. And if they decided they didn't, then she'd be left without a soulmate. Completely alone, for the rest of her life.

She didn't want that.

Addie watched her as she was going away. Part of her was angry at Annalisa for getting involved in that, but on the other hand, she knew she'd have done exactly the same thing, if Zed had been sad about something. She would have tried to solve it. She wouldn't even have told him, and he'd have been mad at her afterwards, but then he'd have been doing better, and she would know she had done the right thing.

Gosh, was she missing the bad times too now? She probably was.

Her entire body seemed to ache, just because he wasn't by her side. Because they hadn't touch in… What, less than a week? It had been less than a week since the breakup? It felt so far away, and yet the memory of Zed was so strong…

She was in so much pain.

She took out her phone and, for the first time, she listened to Zed's messages. There were too many, and she had to hang up eventually, but not before she started crying.

" _Hi, Addie. So, you're, hm, not picking up? Well, it's… Not a surprise I guess. I… I… You must be feeling… I wish we could talk. So, call me back? Maybe? Shit, I'm terrible at that."_

 _"_ _Addie. So, you're still not picking up. It's fair. But, maybe, do? Or meet me? Or something? Addie, I… Oh God."_

 _"_ _Addie, it's, erm, me again. I… Let's just… Ugh."_

 _"_ _Addie, if you're half as disgusted by me as I am by myself, I'd understand if you'd never ever wanted to see me again."_

 _"_ _I don't even know why I'm calling anymore. I just want us to talk."_

That was the one she couldn't take anymore. Because of the tender, sweet way with which he said 'us'. That wasn't fair. So she decided that yeah, they did need closure.

With sweating palms, she dialed Zed's number. She licked her lips as it rung, but it only took one ring tone before she heard Zed's voice. She could have sworn he had jumped on the phone as soon as he had seen it was her. It made her somewhat happy to know that Annalisa wasn't next to him as they talked.

" _Addie,_ " he breathed out with the voice of a desperate man who finally got a taste of something he was addicted to. Not so long ago, it would have made her happy.

"Hi, Zed. I agree with you. I think we should talk."

* * *

 _And here you are, two chapters left! I had a bad day so I'm not going to write a much longer message, I hope you've enjoyed the chapter, if you did please let me know cuz it's nice to know that you like what I write :) I will see you in two weeks._

 _Dya._

 _Lya Carvalho: Well I mean it already took Zed and Addie almost three years to get to dating because they were not soulmates and it's not accepted in society so that would be complicated x) Bree and Bonzo did appear in a previous chapter and will appear again in the next one! Thanks for your review ^-^_

 _Grace: Explanation time will come soon ;)_

 _fashionlover: I'm kind of glad i'm capable of creating such strong reactions among my readers, ahah (but also sorry for your pain, I just love angst too :D)_

 _daffodil : thank you for taking the time to leave such a kind message! I'm glad you enjoy the story!_


	7. Sick of Losing Soulmates

_The chapter's title is a Dodie song (Sick of losing soulmates). You can listen to it while reading - I did while writing._

* * *

The day before a concert was always busy. Eliza was actually quite thankful for that, for once. That way, she didn't have to think about her final decision of ending things with Bucky. If she was honest with herself, she had to admit that it wouldn't change much. She had 'ended' things with him a million times. He would leave, defeated, and come back in a few months, determined to make her fall for him.

What was different was her certitude that she would not.

At least, she was at peace with herself. In the end, even she, despite giving it so much thought, despite spending so much time working on it, had been gangrened with the thought that her soulmate would be the right person for her.

She didn't even really blame herself for that, as she caught glimpse of Bree and Bonzo working together in perfect harmony. It was crazy how these two always seemed to know where the other was, if they needed help, and to understand each other without a word. She watched Bree lift a box that was too heavy for her and Bonzo rushing to her side to help her, giving her a tender and loving smile. Bree smiled back, and as soon as the box was in Bonzo's truck, she gave him a peck on the lips.

Bonzo's smile became even brighter, and he put one of his arms around Bree's waist, bringing her in a quick hug, before letting her go.

Honestly, who wouldn't want that?

If Eliza had thought she had even the slightest chance of living that with Bucky, she would have jumped in with her eyes closed. But she knew better now.

Yes, Bree and Bonzo were soulmates, it was true, but that wasn't the only reason of their happiness together. It was also because it was _them_. And that was what most people failed to understand when it came to soulmates. The connexion between two soulmates was not the only thing that was needed to make a relationship work, and that was why so many people ended being unhappy.

Like Eliza and Bucky would be, like they had already been, or at the very least, how she had already been with him.

She looked at the sky for a second. It was a beautiful day.

They were soon joined by Zed and Annalisa, and this was when things got a bit weird. Bree, being her adorable self, did her best to make Annalisa feel included, but even she slipped a couple of times, calling her Addie. She immediately apologized, but each time Annalisa's face contorted with an emotion that Eliza couldn't exactly identify. It could be anger, but it could also very well be sadness or fear.

The very fact that Annalisa reacted to it was a surprise for Eliza. Annalisa had never seemed to care about Zed's relationship with Addie. On the contrary, she had dismissed it. Eliza couldn't draw a conclusion out of it, but for the first time, she felt slightly uncomfortable at the thought that maybe Annalisa was caught in something she didn't deserve.

The feeling grew bigger when Annalisa came to help her with the guitars. Apparently, she played too. Eliza wasn't exactly surprised, given the t-shirts the girl always wore, but it just felt _weird_ to have her there. It felt… wrong.

Addie always came to help them. Sure, she didn't know anything about guitars or instruments for that matter, but she always made Zed laugh, and it was nice to work with Zed's laughter in the background. Eliza glanced at him. He was chatting lightly with Bree, but he sure wasn't laughing. Eliza would always get annoyed because Addie was slowing him down, and the couple would apologize, and then Addie would proceed to slow _Bree_ down, and Eliza would start yelling and Zed would start laughing even louder.

Zed said Eliza was funny when she was angry, but they both knew he didn't really mean that. He thought she was funny when she was _pretending_ to be angry.

Talking to Annalisa was surprisingly nice, but Eliza couldn't help the way she felt. She didn't want to like Annalisa. Addie was one of her closest friends, and she felt like she was betraying her somehow.

It was already quite late in the afternoon when, finally, everyone jumped into the truck. Eliza didn't say anything when Zed sat on the passenger seat. He never did that, but Annalisa didn't need to know that. Saying something would just have been cruel, and Eliza wasn't cruel. They watched as Bonzo kissed Bree goodbye. Bree blushed as he tenderly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. They still looked like newlyweds, and they were adorable.

Eliza whistled loudly, making Bree jump back.

"My god Eliza," she protested, "when are you going to grow up?"

"We have a song about that!" Eliza answered. "You should come and see us play!"

Bree shuddered visibly, and Zed and Eliza laughed, while the couple shook their head, falsely disapproving. Annalisa tilted her head. She didn't understand the joke. She glanced at Zed, but he wasn't paying any attention to her. Well, it wasn't surprising that she wouldn't fit in immediately. He had friends, he had a life here, and it was America, not Spain, but Annalisa was actually starting to feel very, very homesick. If it hadn't been for Zed, she'd probably be on a plane right now.

"Bree hates our group," Eliza explained.

Annalisa smiled, even if she would have liked it better if it was her freakin' soulmate who had taken the time to talk to her. But no, he was just staring at his cell-phone absent-mindedly.

"Hey, not everyone's born with good tastes."

"I'd agree with you, girl, but then _some people_ would say that I'm a musical snob!"

The conversation missed a beat. Annalisa noticed, but didn't understand what had happened. Just one second too late, Zed answered. "But you _are_ a snob, 'Liza!"

"Nah, I'm just right and everybody else has shitty opinions."

Eliza's voice was slightly more strained. Shit. It was Addie who said she was a snob, and it was Addie who'd tell her that the point was precisely that everybody had different opinions, to which Eliza would answer that that didn't mean _hers_ weren't the right ones.

Zed stopped there, however, even though he knew just as well as she did how that conversation was supposed to go. His eyes were staring in the distance.

It felt like Addie was everywhere, he thought. He thought he had known how much Addie meant to him, how important she was in his life. He told her all the time, and she always said she liked it best when he called her his sunshine. But now he saw how she was missing in his life even in ways he hadn't noticed before. Because of course he remembered the kisses, and the nights they spent together, and even the movies or the places where they used to walk, but sometimes, it was just something he knew she'd have said in a conversation, or Annalisa not understanding a joke he'd made.

He glanced at the dark-haired girl as Bonzo got into the car and turned the engine on. The more he got to know her, the more understood why she was his soulmate. He was sure that in any other circumstances, he would have fallen head over heels for her. And yet, the more he got to know her, the more he knew that this wouldn't work out.

He was in love with someone else.

He thought that Addie wouldn't come to the show, and then he understood she wouldn't come. Wow. They had never done a show without Addie. That… That felt weird. He didn't like it one bit.

He gulped down, remembering that they had planned to 'talk' the following day.

He wanted her back.

He had no idea how he would tell that to Annalisa. He was supposed to be her prince charming, after all, her one and only. She probably had thought about him since she was a little girl, and so had he. Would she understand?

The thing was, Annalisa was his _soulmate_. It wasn't the kind of relationship you could end in a conversation - or at the very least, it wasn't supposed to be. Given people's opinions on relationships between non-soulmates, and he knew a thing or two about that, he was basically sentencing the girl to a life alone. But then, maybe she'd find someone? He and Addie had.

For the first time in the past week, Zed smiled at the thought of the relationship he and Addie shared.

He was going to do the right thing.

Eliza looked at him, slightly worried. She was perfectly able to tell every thought that had just been through the boy's head, and she wasn't too sure it was all for the best. What if Addie didn't want him back?

* * *

Addie bit her lower lip. She'd been staring at her room's door for quite a while now. She glanced down at her watch. It had barely been five minutes since she had looked for the last time. Which meant if she left now, she'd even be a bit early for the show.

She couldn't believe she was still thinking like that, timing how long the journey would take, even if she shouldn't be involved any more.

Well, she thought to herself, Bonzo and Eliza were still her friends, right? She hadn't heard much from Bonzo, true, but it wasn't like he could actually call her, and Eliza had been the most supportive person around her. If not for Bree, she had been the _only_ supportive person. And to be fair, Bree had been more… passively nice. Addie still loved her, but she knew Bree was more of a follower. Eliza made her own path as she walked.

That didn't help her decide whether or not she should be going to the show.

She knew she shouldn't. It would hurt, knowing he was thinking about on other girl as he sung her songs.

 _Really Addie? You really think Zed could do that? Did you already have that much trust in him during your relationship? You know he would never hurt anyone. Do you seriously believe you meant that little to him?_

She shook her head, begging for the thoughts to go away. She couldn't afford to think like that. Zed was with Annalisa now. So, maybe he wasn't that happy. It wouldn't last. Annalisa was his soulmate. He was supposed to be with her, she was supposed to be with him. It was the end of the line for their relationship.

She felt completely and utterly defeated.

For a second, she imagined Eliza's voice, yelling at her. Telling her that Zed and her had already defied all odds once and that there was no reason they shouldn't do it again. Eliza would probably also call it a political statement, and say that if more people understood that there was nothing wrong with non-soulmates relationships, they wouldn't stay with soulmates they couldn't stand.

But Eliza wasn't there, and even if she had, she wouldn't necessarily have been right about it.

The situation was about feelings, after all.

Or was it really? If Zed hadn't known that Annalisa was his soulmate, would it have changed something? It was a possibility, Addie realized. Zed would never look at a woman other than her, so there wasn't much of a reason why Annalisa would be different. Well, at least, if he was unhappy _now_ , six days in the relationship with her, she was pretty sure he would just have fought the attraction and by now everything would have been back to normal.

Addie suddenly jumped up, opened the door, and got out to grab her coat. To hell with all that. Zed was probably going to have his happily ever after with Annalisa, and after that was confirmed, she wouldn't want to go to his concerts anymore. So it was now or never. She had made her choice. She picked 'now'.

She was heading out when Bucky's voice stopped her.

"Where are you going, cousin?"

She let out a small yelp and turned to face him. He was lying on the sofa, while some dumb TV show played. Addie hadn't noticed. Her mother hated silent so much that the TV was on all the time if she was home, and Addie had learnt to live with it.

She didn't really want to tell Bucky. She fidgeted for a second, and then decided to tell him the truth.

"Zed's band's playing tonight. I was going to see them…"

"Seriously? You're still interested in the guy? You said he met his soulmate, Addison, you should move…"

And then he stopped. Addie had winced at the beginning of his speech, but now she was examining him, almost worried. Bucky's mouth was still open, and she could see the wheels moving in his head.

"Wait, is he in Eliza's band?"

Addie blinked, then nodded hesitantly. What did that have to do with anything? It was common knowledge that Bucky and Eliza were mortal ennemies.

"Let's go. I'll drive."

Addie stared in disbelief as Bucky jumped from his seat and almost ran to the door.

"Well? What're you waiting for? I won't wait for you!"

She shook herself and quickly followed him, running as well. A small, liberated laugh escaped her lips as she got into the car. Bucky turned the engine on almost immediately, and the expensive car roared in the small street as he drove them to the place of the concert.

Addie didn't say anything, but didn't really manage to hide her surprise either. Bucky had always been very clear about the fact that his soulmate would ever be the only one for him, so why had the simple mention of Eliza sent him on edge?

Oh.

No.

That couldn't be. Sure, Bucky didn't know who his soulmate was, but…

Eliza would have said something, if she had known, wouldn't she? There was no way she could have kept it hidden for this long, was there?

Addie's thoughts were taking her down a path she had never even considered before. And she wasn't too sure what to think about it.

* * *

By the time Bucky and Addie made it to the concert, the band playing before Zed, Eliza and Bonzo's 'Zombie' was on. Addie smiled when she recognized them from other shows, and quickly took off her coat, leaving it to the girl at the cloakroom.

"Addie! I didn't expect you to come!"

Addie gave her an embarrassed smile, and she had the delicacy not to insist as Addie made her way in the crowd. She glanced back at Bucky, who was frowning. It clearly wasn't his type of music, and she should have realized that earlier.

Could it be that Eliza really was his soulmate?

She hesitated. She could easily have gone backstage to talk to the band. She was pretty sure Bonzo and Eliza would have been pretty glad to see her, but then… She frowned and shook her head. No. Zed and her had agreed on talking the following day. She should even try to make sure he wouldn't see her. After all, what she was doing right now felt like stealing.

Stealing moments. She could go sit in the back of the room and pretend that Zed was still hers. She could imagine that he was thinking of her as he sung. She could imagine that she would be the one he would come to after the show.

Zed was always… Well, turned on wasn't the word, but it was close enough, at the end of a show. Usually, he'd kiss her like he wanted to devour her, pressing her as close from him as was decent - and, if Eliza was to be trusted, even more than that sometimes. It was like he had too much adrenaline running in his system and he needed her to cool down.

She was totally fine with that, back then. She enjoyed it quite a lot, even if Zed was usually terribly sweaty and she would always complain about that. She liked the thought of being the one who could calm him down, just by being there.

And today, after the show, he would kiss Annalisa.

The sudden pain almost made her fall down.

Her smile, which had been perfectly genuine until now, suddenly fell down. She had to actually try to bring it back up. She doubted anyone would see through it, but she knew it was false.

Backstage, Zed wasn't doing much better. The vague rehearsals they had done earlier had been terrible, and he knew it was his fault. Eliza had managed to stay calm, but now she was stressed, and she had said some pretty hurtful things.

Annalisa was sitting beside him, silent, holding his hand. He didn't mind the gesture, but he didn't like its meaning. Had she been Eliza - admittedly, a much calmer Eliza - he would probably have been hugging her. But right now, it meant something other than friendship. And he was almost sure by now that he didn't want that 'something' with Annalisa.

When he heard the announcer calling the band's name, he stood up, his mind completely blank. He barely didn't notice Annalisa kissing his cheek, though a part of him vaguely wondered since when Addie managed to kiss him without him bending at least a little.

What he did notice, though, was Eliza stopping him just before he got on stage.

"Okay," she hissed, "real talk."

He blinked a couple of times. He wasn't sure he liked where this was going.

"I don't care what's on your mind when you play. We're not messing this up, Zed. I don't care about your moral conflicts. Do whatever you have to do to make this work."

She glanced at Annalisa, who was looking at them with concern, and turned back to face him, her voice even lower than before.

"Think of whoever you have to. We're _not_ messing this up because of you."

Zed followed her, his heart thumping loudly in his chest.

When he got behind the mike, he still had no idea what to do.

He had thought about it, of course. About how he could just focus on Addie instead of trying to make the lyrics about Annalisa, something he was completely unable to do, but he didn't think he had the right to do that anymore. Even just thinking of Addie made him feel like a complete asshole.

That was the moment when he saw her.

She was in the middle of the crowd, but it still felt like his eyes were naturally drawn to her. He noticed her surprise when their eyes met.

After that, everything went perfectly smoothly. As if knowing that Addie was there meant that nothing could go wrong.

He didn't notice the glances Eliza threw at him. He didn't notice anything, but the music and Addie.

They did good that night. It wasn't their best show - that title actually belonged to the night when Zed and Addie had gotten into a huge fight and he had felt so relieved when she had still showed up after all - but it was close enough.

Eliza opened her mouth to say something to Zed, but he almost ran away, throwing his guitar. Luckily, Annalisa caught it. Zed walked past her, ignoring her completely, though probably not on purpose.

"Nice reflexes," Eliza mumbled. She had an idea of where he was going, and it made her extremely uncomfortable, particularly with Annalisa being right there.

She grabbed a bottle of water and drank half of it in one time.

It was when she put it down that she saw Bucky, standing in front of her.

Crap. It had been such a nice night until then.

* * *

It only took a few minutes for Zed to find Addie. She may have been trying to hide, or maybe she wanted him to find her, even she couldn't tell at that point. He hadn't looked away from her during the entire time he was on stage, and it had made her feel the very things she had refused to even think about during the week.

Love. And hope.

As soon as he had found her, he grabbed her hand and dragged her somewhere a bit more private.

And he kissed her.

She had no idea what to think nor what to do, and her body simply took over. She immediately wrapped her arms around him and a small moan escaped her. Zed groaned against her, pressing her against the wall, and seemingly trying to make their bodies melt into each other. Addie felt his warm tongue against her lips. It would have been a perfect moment to stop.

But she opened her mouth, and tasted him just as hungrily as he tasted her. Who was she kidding? She wanted this as much as he did. Her hands went into his hair and she grabbed it in an attempt to pull him even closer. He happily obliged, until he remembered he needed to breathe and had to get back. She moaned when their lips stopped their dance, but sighed with pleasure when he started kissing her neck instead.

He bit down slowly, tracing his tongue on her smooth skin. He had missed her. He had missed her so much.

He went back to devour her lips, and Addie chuckled.

Right now, they were really stealing time, and they were both pretending that nothing had happened. But at some point, they'd have to come back down.

And reality would hurt like hell.

* * *

"What is it that you want, Bucky?" Eliza asked angrily, turning her back on him and starting to get her things ready.

"I came, see?"

Eliza chuckled darkly. There wasn't an ounce of joy in her voice.

"Yeah, big deal. You hate that music, Bucky. Forcing yourself to come to something we both know you don't enjoy isn't exactly what I'm hoping for."

"I thought we were doing fine, recently, 'Liza," Bucky said, and she could hear the confusion in his voice. "I thought you'd be happy. I don't understand what you're doing."

"Is everything okay, Eliza?" Annalisa's voice asked.

They both turned to face her. Her arms were folded on her chest, and she actually looked quite threatening as she glared at Bucky. Eliza couldn't help but smiling at her protective attitude. That was really nice from her. She appreciated it.

"It's fine, Anna," she said with a small nod.

"I'll be right there if you need anything," Annalisa said. She stepped back, giving them privacy, but she would be able to intervene if it was needed.

Eliza smiled once more. Annalisa looked like fun, now that she thought of it. Sure enough, Eliza had gotten her fair share of fights and was pretty sure she could take on Bucky if needed, but it's not like Annalisa could have known that. It made her feel even worst about what Zed was probably doing now.

"Don't you think we should try again?" Bucky asked, his voice warm.

Eliza shook her head.

"Not now, Bucky. I can't do this now. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"No, I want to do this now, Eliza," he said, getting a step closer from her.

She looked at him in disbelief. Oh, he wanted to do that? If he insisted, it probably meant he thought she would agree on taking him back. He probably assumed that she was light-headed right now, or maybe that she was drunk. Well, he was in for a surprise. She just knew it would ruin her night and she'd have rather avoided that, but if he really wanted to.

"Fine. It's no, Bucky. It's always going to be no. Sure, we always have a fun time when we try it, but in the end, you always try to change me."

Well, that wasn't very honest, was it?

"I always get angry at everything you say for no reason as well," she conceded, "but that's not what matters. This isn't about who did what." She looked into his eyes. "We may be soulmates, but we're not in love."

And as she watched various emotions pass on his face, it hit her how right she was.

"This doesn't make sense," he said. "If only we tried…"

"Yeah, but I don't _want_ to try."

Bucky shook his head. He couldn't accept that. Eliza knew he wouldn't. He'd back down for a couple of months, and then he'd be back.

"Listen, you're tired, you had a long day. Let's see each other tomorrow like we said we would, alright?"

She rolled her eyes but agreed, forcing each words out of her throat.

Once Bucky was gone, she let herself release some tension. Gosh, she wanted it to be over…

* * *

Someone knocked on her door.

Eliza grumbled audibly as she rose from the sofa. It was the goddamn middle of the night! Would that really become a habit for her friends now? She opened the door cautiously, ready to chew up whoever it was, and frowned when she saw Zed.

Earlier, when the group had left, they had looked everywhere for Zed and hadn't found him. Both her and Annalisa had tried to call her, but he hadn't answered. Annalisa didn't look surprised. She looked… resigned. Eliza had ran into Addie and has asked if she had seen Zed. The girl had blushed crimson, but had admitted that she hadn't seen him since an hour or so.

Finally, they had left, dropping Annalisa at the boy's house. Zed was a grown man, he'd find his way back.

And there he was. He looked terrible.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Eliza asked, louder than she had meant.

"I walked," he said.

He _walked_? All the way from that place? But it was _miles_ away!

"Can I come in?" he nearly begged. "I really don't want to go home."

With a reluctant sigh, Eliza let him in.

"You kissed Addie at the concert."

Zed didn't answer.

"I can't say I'm the girl's biggest fan, but I still think it was a dick move for Annalisa."

"It's not like I ever broke up with Addie," Zed finally mumbled. "Or _agreed_ to anything with Annalisa, for that matter. I never asked for a soulmate."

Yeah, she could understand the feeling. Neither had she. Zed had just followed society's fucked up rules and now he was stuck in some sort of social vacuum. She stood by the fact that he should have waited until he had made things clear with Annalisa before he did anything with Addie, but it was too late for that now.

Not that she wouldn't express how much she disapproved.

"You can crash on the couch for tonight, but you'd better be out first thing in the morning to make things right with Annalisa. And you know what I mean."

"Thanks," Zed said sincerely, already laying down.

"And no shoes on my couch!" Eliza yelled as she walked in her bedroom.

Zed chuckled sleepily and kicked his shoes off.

When he closed his eyes, his mind was filled with images of a blonde girl.

 _Addie, Addie, Addie_.

* * *

 _Wow, that chapter was hard to write. I hope you've enjoyed it and that you won't give Zed too much hate. Well, I mean, you can, Eliza won't refrain herself, but it's complicated for him too x) It's also the longest chapter so far! Next one will/should be the last, I have no plans for writing an epilogue but maybe I'll get some ideas, I honestly don't know. Please let me know if you liked the chapter, it's always so nice to hear from you!_

 _I'll see you in two weeks,_

 _Dya._

 _PS: I've been thinking, once this is over, of writing a Zombie Apocalypse AU (what if Zed and Addie and everyone had been around at that time?), so maybe in two weeks the first chapter of that will be up... If I manage to find a plot. I just have vague ideas for now. Would you be interested in reading that?_

 _Grace : ah, all of that will be answered in the next chapter, but I'm glad Annalisa appears a bit more likeable ^-^ Thanks for reviewing!_

 _Lya Carvalho: I'm sorry, I honestly finished this chapter yesterday so there was no way I could have posted earlier ^^ But I'm happy you're enjoying this story so much!_

 _Last Guest: well that would be interesting, but I mean that's sort of the plot of Eliza and Bucky's story, except that Eliza's getting out of it herself, so I would be afraid of making it repetitive ^^_


	8. The Winner Takes It All

_Song recommandation and chapter's name:_ The winner takes it all, _Abba_.

* * *

When Eliza got up, she expected (okay, maybe she _hoped_ ) to have to throw Zed off of her couch and to get him out there, all the while yelling at him to go get his shit right with Annalisa. She was slightly disappointed to discover that he was already gone, but maybe it was for the best. She had been on edge recently, and maybe she would have been mean instead of being… Well, her usual annoying and nagging self.

As much as Zed had gotten on her nerves recently, she needed to take into account the fact that he had only had a week to think. She had gotten two years before Bucky had found out that she was his soulmate, and even then, resisting him was the hardest thing she had ever had to do, no matter how well she knew he was wrong for her.

Hell, even now, even after everything, even with how much thought she had given to the situation, she still needed to repeat herself why she was doing it. The temptation was terribly strong, and she desperately wanted to get it all out of the way. Maybe after that she would finally do the stuff she had always talked about, like volunteering for a humanitarian project and leaving America. Would she be running away from Bucky? Yes, completely. But it would be a good thing.

Maybe, she mused, she would find someone who would love her, actually love her, like Zed loved Addie and like Addie loved Zed. It would be wonderful if she could love that person back. Almost a miracle. Love on its own truly was a miracle, wasn't it? To think you could meet someone and suddenly there would be those feelings, without anything else coming into play, without the knowledge that you were meant for each other… It was a wonder people took a gamble on something like that, risking to be hurt so much despite them perhaps not being meant to be.

Her and Bucky were meant to be, technically, though… She had been in love with him. It was true. During their last year of high school, when they hid their relationship. It had been so much _fun_ , back then, being with him!

Now… Now she didn't feel the same. She had never thought it was possible to stop loving your soulmate, and yet here she was. The living proof that it could happen.

As always, when she realized that she didn't love Bucky anymore, Eliza felt terribly empty. She slowly walked to her kitchen and proceeded to make herself coffee.

She noticed the beverage's salty taste before she understood she was crying.

* * *

Zed would have liked to be able to say that he was tensed, or that he had second thoughts about what he was going to do, but that would have been a lie. He had never been more sure of what had to be done. In fact, he had known all week.

He couldn't believe it had been only a week. He felt like he and Addie had been apart for forever, and boy, did he miss her. He opened the door, and suddenly, all of his intentions and of his thoughts fell apart when he saw Annalisa.

There was a rush of heat in his body, and no matter what he _knew_ to be true and to be real, he suddenly thought that he was an idiot. That girl, she was meant to be his. Maybe Addie and him would break up in a few years, heck, a few months. Annalisa and him were soulmates.

He shook his head almost violently. What was he thinking? He loved Addie. He could feel it in every part of his body. Yet seeing Annalisa nearly sent shivers down his spine, and he could do absolutely nothing against it, except from thinking that she looked beautiful, even if he thought it would have been better if she had been blonde, sitting on her suitcase in his hall and…

Wait. Suitcase?

Zed blinked, finally snapping out of it. His thoughts became clearer again. He didn't love Annalisa. She seemed to have been caught in the same strange sort of daze, and Zed wondered if it was their soulmate bond that tried to push them together once more. He remembered that the night when he had met Annalisa for the first time, he thought he had gone crazy. Everything seemed brighter, and the world had felt absolutely perfect.

It hadn't lasted though, and that was probably why they were here now, with him wanting to… What, break up with her? He didn't really know. He hadn't planned anything, hoping to get some inspiration at the right moment. Obviously, that wasn't happening. So, instead of starting a big speech like he would have wished he could, he eyed her suitcase.

"What's going on?" he asked, pointing at them with a movement of his chin.

Annalisa blinked several times and looked away from him, blushing and tucking her hair behind her ear. He realized that, unlike him, she hadn't been able to break free from staring at him. It felt weird, to know that she was probably experiencing exactly the same feeling he had been.

"Well, I'm going back," she said, her voice shaking slightly. She cursed herself. What was wrong with her? How could she have been looking at him like that? It made her want to cancel her flight and fight to keep him at her side. But her pride wouldn't let her do that, and her brain whispered to her that it wasn't the right thing to do anyway.

She had that feeling that if she really tried, it wouldn't be that hard to win Zed over, but she was also well aware of the fact that he wouldn't stop loving Addie just like that. Yeah, right, she had to keep that in mind.

"Back?" Zed repeated, clearly in shock. "To _Spain_?"

Annalisa laughed.

"Well, I know I literally crossed the planet to find you, but yeah, this is where I'm going back to. Home."

He looked at her, blinking like a confused owl. Ugh, she was going to have to spell it out for him, wasn't she? She thought, for a second, of playing the "of course, you're coming with me to meet my parents, right honey? You'll have to learn Spanish, because there's no way I'm coming to live here" card, but she decided against it. It would have been fun to watch him completely taken aback, but she didn't have it in her right now.

"You can give me a call if she dumps you."

And suddenly, there it was. Zed's face lit up with understanding. It didn't last, though, and much to Annalisa's surprise, that emotion was quickly replaced by sadness and guilt. Zed shook his head slowly, and she couldn't help but feel her heart beating faster. Was he going to ask her to stay? It was absolutely pathetic how much she would have loved that.

"I'm so sorry," Zed said.

Well, here was to hoping.

She wanted to shrug and to say she was fine, but she was afraid she would start crying if she even so much as moved her little finger.

"You didn't… You don't deserve that, Anna."

His eyes plunged into her, and he had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen, and she wished she could have looked into them for the rest of her life.

"I don't think I'm doing anything wrong," he said softly. "I don't think getting with Addie was wrong, either."

He had, at some point, thought he had somewhat betrayed her before meeting her, just by being and falling in love with Addie. After all, he had always known he had a soulmate out there, somewhere. It had taken a lot of convincing from Addie before he had decided to agree on them being together.

Eliza would probably have said that it was easier for Addie because her parents had a shitty relationship despite being soulmates, while Zed's mom had died when he was young and he was therefore idealizing the soulmate relationship.

She wouldn't have been completely wrong.

"I'm just sorry you had to be caught in the middle of all this."

His voice was terribly sincere, and Anna's heart broke once more. Falling in love at first sight for a soulmate that didn't love you back. _Way to go, girl_.

"Whatever," she said, shrugging, "just think of me if things go wrong and send me your girl's soulmate's phone number after she's told him she's not interested, okay?"

She was so freaking _nailing_ this. If there was one thing Annalisa didn't have, it was trust issues, and she was luckier about that than she would imagine. Because if she had thought that Zed was her only chance at happiness, there was no doubt what was happening right now would have crushed her.

She bit her lip. She wished Zed would stop looking at her like that. She knew he was sorry. She wished he wasn't, she wished he had been nothing but an asshole to her and that he had tried to two-time her. Then, she would have kicked his ass without batting an eye and she would have left without looking back. But of course, Zed had to be such a nice guy, and a _musician_ \- what she had always hoped her soulmate would be.

"Well, I gotta get going," Annalisa said after clearing her throat.

She didn't, she really didn't, her flight was only the next day, but there was no way she was staying there. It was her goddamn pride, one more time, but it wouldn't be said that she stayed around a guy who was in love with someone else to try and make him fall for her.

" _Adiòs_ , Zed."

Deciding that she could grant herself that small pleasure one last time, she gently kissed him on the cheek. Next thing he knew, she had slammed the door open and had left, dragging her suitcase behind her. She would have loved to know that she looked like a true movie heroin, with her silhouette shining in the morning sun.

But she was too busy trying not to let her sobs make her shoulders shake to think about it.

* * *

There was a weird silence, after Annalisa left. Zed sat down on his couch and closed his eyes. He didn't really feel sad. He felt weirdly empty. He had felt like that, at the very beginning, when Annalisa had just arrived. Addie's absence had then turned into a gaping hole in his chest. He could, maybe he should have been worried that the same thing was going to happen now, but he didn't.

He knew Addie could make him feel whole, he had absolutely no doubt she would fill that emptiness with her smile, her laugh, her eyes, her touch… And even if, maybe, sometimes, he had to feel that strange nostalgia, that uncomfortable emptiness, he knew it would all be worth it.

 _Addie, Addie, Addie_.

He was seeing her tonight. He vaguely examined the thought that she wouldn't want to be back with him, but he shrugged it off. Addie had had to fight with him for months before he'd agreed to go out with her, since he was in love with her. He would fight just as hard if he needed to.

He smiled.

 _Addie._

* * *

Addie hurried towards the Starbucks, where she and Eliza had planned to meet. She was on time, of course, she was always on time, but still, she didn't want her friend to have to wait. When she arrived, Eliza was indeed there, two drinks in front of her, and her eyes glued to her phone.

"Hey, I hope you haven't been here too long?"

Eliza jumped, which truly surprised Addie. It was usually extremely hard to surprise Eliza. The girl quickly shook her head, like she wanted to get rid of some thoughts, and gave Addie a smile that the blonde girl would have sworn was forced.

"Nah, it's okay. Here, I got your drink."

Addie hesitated, but decided not to point out her friend's weird attitude. If it had been Bree, it would have been because she'd know Bree would tell her at some point. With Eliza, it was because she knew Eliza _wouldn't_ tell her, and because she would also probably be a lot more defensive during the conversation. Addie really didn't need that right now. It was Eliza who had offered for the meeting, but the truth was Addie was terribly, desperately in need of a friendly ear to listen to her.

She had thought that she was going to have a clean, proper break with Zed, that it was the right thing to do. And then, Zed came to her at the end of a concert, kissed her like there was no tomorrow, and disappeared. She had thought he'd gone back to Annalisa, and that had crushed her, until Eliza had come looking for him. Understanding that he wasn't back with his soulmate, Addie had felt stupidly, pathetically happy. She hated herself for that.

Now, she was just plainly confused. She had talked about it with Bree through a phone conversation, which had helped her, but now she wanted to know what someone who had actually studied soulmates and stuff - her understanding of Eliza's interests - would think of the situation. It was totally unheard of for Addie. It virtually never happened for soulmates not to be happy together… Right? Her parents had their ups and downs (maybe more 'downs' than 'ups', though), but they were still _globally_ happy together.

"So," Eliza said, looking at her quizzically, "what's going on?"

Addie wriggled under her friend's glare, took a deep breath, and told her everything. Annalisa asking her to fix things with Zed, her deciding on one last conversation for a break-up, and then the concert, the kiss, and her not knowing what on earth she could do now.

"Wait," Eliza noted, "Bucky came with you?"

That remark prompted Addie to look at her and tilt her head to the right, her eyes confused and vaguely curious. _That_ was what she'd picked up from her entire speech? But Eliza seemed dead serious, so Addie nodded.

"I told him I was going out to see Zed, he asked if you were in the band and then he joined me."

Eliza sunk back into her chair and passed her hand on her face. She had to hold back a laugh. So Bucky had not only been absolutely _incapable_ of remembering her band's name, but he also didn't remember who was in it, and he'd only decided to go see her when he'd learnt that his cousin was going? A small part of her had hoped he had remembered she had told him about the concert she had, that he had looked it up and that he had come because of that, actively trying to make a compromise for their relationship on something he would have known was important to her. But no, of course not.

She couldn't believe herself. She couldn't believe she had any hope left for him.

It wouldn't have changed anything, though, if that had been the case, she realized. She would not have taken him back.

It didn't mean it didn't hurt to realize he was an ass.

She willed the thoughts away with just a blink. It would take her some time, before she managed not to let Bucky hurt her anymore, but she would get there. If Annalisa could leave Zed, like he had just texted her she had, there was nothing she, Addie or Zed couldn't do. That girl had some guts, she had to admit. Maybe they would have been friends. She would probably have been a great friend of Addie, too. It was almost sad to think that because of her soulmate bond with Zed, that would never be possible.

Addie looked at her, obviously worried, and Eliza instantly brought herself back in the conversation.

She opened her mouth, realized what she was going to say, closed it, then understood that she _had_ to say it, and opened her mouth again with a frown. Addie watched her do all that and grew absolutely terrified.

"Okay, listen, girl, because I'm never saying that again. This ain't a Disney movie. Addie, what you need to do is listen to what your heart is telling you."

There, she had said it. Now that the corniest part was out, the rest should be easier.

"You're the only one who can make that decision, Addie," she said with a soft tone that was very unusual of her. "I can tell you that the bond between soulmates isn't something sacred, and that it was what influenced Zed this week, but I can also tell you that the bond does not justify everything."

If she had been with Bucky at some point, it _was_ because she had wanted it and because she had been in love with him. She needed to recognize that. Plus it wasn't always all bad. It was just not what she needed, and now she had to move on.

"You have to decide for yourself. You can forgive Zed, you can decide not to, you can decide that there is nothing that needs to be forgiven. Girl, if you want to, you can decide right here right now to jump on the next plane for Japan or wherever to look for your soulmate. Or you can stay here and talk to Zed tonight. You can leave tomorrow too. It's your life. Nothing and no one else can make their decision for you. And that includes the soulmate bond."

And if _she_ didn't fuckin' want to go back to Bucky, she fuckin' didn't have to.

She wondered if she should let Addie know that Zed had spent the night on her couch, and that Annalisa was gone. Part of her thought that it wasn't her who should be saying that, but in the end, Eliza was a scientist. And you need all the data you can get to make the right decision and not regret it in the end. She figured she owed it to both Zed and Addison.

"Zed spent the night at my place. When he left, he was going to 'make things right' with Annalisa." She plunged her eyes into Addie's. "I just got a text from him. Annalisa's going back to Europe."

Addie fell silent at that. Many emotions passed on her face, and Eliza decided not to push anymore. Like she had just said, it was Addie's decision now, and there was nothing more she could do. Addison had all the cards in hand. It was her turn to play.

"Well, I gotta get going," Eliza said, standing up. "There's something I have to take care of."

Addison snapped out of whatever thoughts were crossing her mind at the moment to look up at her.

"Wait, 'Liza… Are you okay?"

Eliza blinked, looking at the worried blonde girl.

"Huh? Me? Are you seriously asking me that right now?"

Addie chuckled nervously and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Well, you never say anything about yourself… And I'm… wondering how much you're not telling us."

Eliza took a sharp breath. She was surprised at how much she reacted to Addie's words. They made her weirdly happy, and a genuine smile undid the frown she wore most of the time.

"I'm okay," she said. "I can deal with whatever's coming my way."

"I don't doubt that," Addie immediately responded, "it's just… You don't have to do it all yourself. You know that, right?"

Gosh, was the girl trying to make her cry or what?

"Thanks Addie," she said, ruffling her friend's hair, earning a small yelp of protest. "I know you're there."

"It's not only me," Addie insisted, determined to get her point across. "You have Zed, and Bonzo, and Bree…"

"Yeah, yeah, but I've gotta take care of y'all."

Addie sighed and shook her head. Eliza smiled.

"Addie, I hear you. Don't worry 'bout me, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," Addie mumbled, imitating her friend's tone, "but I've gotta take care of ya if you're not going to do it yourself."

Eliza laughed loudly.

"Gotta run. Let me know how things go with Zed!"

With that, she was gone. Addie watched her waving at her through the glass and giving her a wink before walking away. She wondered if she was right for being worried for Eliza. Eliza was a force of nature, after all. But Bucky's reaction, the day before, had made her question herself a lot. She sighed. There was not much more she could do.

She couldn't force Eliza to accept her help, and now, she had a decision to make with all the new informations she had.

 _Think, Addie, think_.

* * *

Eliza cursed when she walked out of the library, almost ten minutes behind on her schedule. Now, she would have to run if she wanted to be on time to meet with Bucky - and she owed him that, didn't she? She felt somewhat nostalgic, as she ran through the streets. That had happened so many times before.

Sure, back then she was happy to meet him, and she would be running because they didn't want to be seen together, but still, it was similar enough. She felt a squeeze in her chest, and for once, she didn't ignore it nor did she will it to go away.

Bucky had been a part of her life, an important one, but that had to stop now.

It was the first time she allowed herself to feel sad for that. She had always thought that sadness would forbid her from letting him go, and now she knew where that came from. Sure, part of it was on her side, but there was no doubt in her mind that Bucky would try to use that feeling against her, if he knew about it.

She couldn't let herself cry in front of him.

He was waiting for her in the park, sitting on their usual bench, under a streetlight. She stopped in front of him, panting slightly, and he looked at her. She was shocked to see how defeated he looked. That was… That was so unlike him. She almost felt guilty for knowing she was here to rub salt in the wound.

Almost.

She had gone through years of that relationship that made her feel like shit, after all, and she clung to her anger desperately, so she would find the resolve to do what needed to be done anyway.

"It's over," Bucky said, letting his head hang and looking down to the ground. "You came here to tell me it's all over."

Eliza rolled her eyes. He was playing the victime, like he always did. What made it so hard for her was that he probably _felt_ like the victime. He probably thought she was a mean social justice warrior who refused to be with him because she rejected soulmates relationship.

She didn't.

She refused to be with him _because of him_.

"I've always done everything I could think of for us," he said, his voice reduced to just more than a whisper. "You've never fought for us."

Eliza didn't even wince at his words. Once again, he probably felt like he was right, but she had spent the most important part of their relationship fighting for them. Against herself.

"If that's enough, I'm willing to do much more," he continued. "But that will never be enough. Because you've already given up." This time, there was venom in his voice.

Eliza shook her head.

"Bucky, there's no _point_ in trying. Being with you makes me despise myself, and you hate everything I fight for. This is ridiculous."

His head shot up at her words.

"Being with me makes you despise yourself?" he hissed. "Where's your tolerance now?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, cut it, will you? I don't have to love everyone, that's not what I'm defending and you know it. This is you and I, on an individual level. It's not a crime if we don't work out. It happens."

"We're _soulmates_!" he protested, his voice panicked. "You can't just walk away from that!"

"I already have, Bucky!" Eliza yelled, finally snapping. "Multiple times! Remember? And each time, I tell you I'm not coming back!"

"Oh come on, what are you looking for? You want to see me beg, don't you? You enjoy this as much as I do!"

She shook her head with utter disgust as he took a step towards her and wrapped his arm around her waist to press her against him.

"I swear if you don't let me go I'll punch you," she growled, her voice dangerously low.

Bucky rolled her eyes and stepped back, raising his hands in defense.

"It's not like I'm _assaulting_ you, Eliza. We're soulmates."

She wished he'd stop repeating that like it changed something.

"Actually, it is assault, and since you seem to need help with definitions, _this_ is a final goodbye, Bucky."

He shook his head as she turned her back on him and walked away. Yeah, right. He'd let her calm down for a month or two, and then he'd be back. She'd crack eventually. His eyes followed her, taking in the way her hips moved with each steps she took, and an appreciative smile danced on his lips. She'd be his.

* * *

"Hey. Came here for the show?"

Eliza blinked in surprise at the words and quickly searched for the person who had said it. Her eyes widened when she discovered Annalisa, sitting on a bench. Well, on the back of the bench, really. She was holding a cigarette between her index and her middle finger.

"What are you talking about?" Eliza answered, her brow furrowing.

Annalisa pointed her chin towards something in front of her, and Eliza turned to follow her glance. There was Zed, pacing and obviously stressed.

Oh.

"I had no idea they were meeting here. You don't feel like too much of a stalker, watching your sort-of-ex-boyfriend meeting with his sort-of-ex-girlfriend?"

Annalisa laughed.

"Not really, no. I guess you could say I don't give a damn. Wanna join?"

Eliza shrugged. It wasn't like she had anything else she was supposed to be doing, plus at least, if she was there, she would be able to help her friends if either of them ended up broken-hearted.

She sat on the bench, leaning against its back.

"You smoke?" she asked Annalisa.

The girl shrugged.

"I just felt like I needed a cigarette right now."

There was a silence, but suddenly Annalisa crushed the cigarette butt on the bench and knocked three times against the wood.

"There comes Juliette. Curtain rise."

* * *

Addie slowly made her way towards Zed. She had noticed him from afar - it really wasn't hard, with how tall he was. He kept pacing, and it brought a small smile on her lips, but it crumbled almost immediately. She was terrified. After her conversation with Eliza, she had given a lot of thought to what she should do.

Did she blame Zed? As pathetic as that might sound, she didn't, at least not in the beginning. She had thought that this was all the soulmate bond. Eliza's words, saying that Zed could actually fight it, had made her angry, but not that much at him. She was a smart girl. She knew love came and went. She was sad more than she was angry… But she didn't want to go through all that again.

Which brought her to the second question: would it all be worth it if she went back with him? The hurt, the pain, the risk of reliving it if Annalisa ever changed her mind and decided to come back… She hadn't come to a decision yet. It was one thing to know that you could stop loving or being loved, it was another to have a Damocles' sword hanging above their heads and to depend on someone's decision.

Unless Zed was able to resist it even then.

She took a deep breath and finally resumed her walking towards the boy.

As soon as he saw her, he rushed towards her. She braced herself, ready to push him if he tried to kiss her. She had decided to draw the line at that. Instead, however, he hugged her tightly, and she felt so small against his chest. She felt completely engulfed by his large form and it felt so good, so right. She closed her eyes a second.

Then she pushed him back.

She was pretty sure she was blushing like crazy, and while she avoided meeting Zed's eyes, she could tell that his face was pretty much in the same state as hers.

"We need to talk," she said, trying to remember the priorities.

"Right. Of course," Zed immediately agreed, stepping back and setting a careful - and painful - distance between them.

Addie looked at him. It had been a long time since they had been able to be face to face, without anything between them.

Or not. Maybe it had just been a week, just seven days, that had felt like an eternity to her. She was starting to regret bringing up the need to 'talk'.

"So," she said, "Eliza told me Annalisa left."

Zed seemed surprised, but he nodded.

"Yeah. Went back to Spain."

Addie rolled her lips, hesitating.

"And? You're okay with that?"

Zed blinked a couple of times. Had Eliza left out a part?

"Well, yes. I was going to… Erm… Stop whatever it was that was going on between us anyway. She did it first, but it was my intention."

"Why would she do that?" Addie asked, the words spilling from her mouth even if she hadn't really planned on talking.

"I think she wouldn't have had it any other way," Zed said, a sad smile on his lips. "She wouldn't have forced me to be with her, but she wasn't going to stay if I wasn't."

"Oh," Addie said. It pained her to admit it, but that Annalisa didn't seem like a bad person. In another situation, maybe they would have been friends.

"What will happen if she decides to come back?" Addie asked, not daring to look at Zed. She could, however, not miss the surprise in his voice when he answered.

"Hm? What then?"

"Will you be able to resist her?"

She didn't see Zed's eyes widening, but she did hear him taking a step towards her. This time, he didn't embrace her. He gently grabbed her chin and tilted it so she would be looking at him. He looked extremely serious.

"Addie, I know you don't know her, but I think we can trust Annalisa. And even if it turns out we can't…" He gulped down. "I hope… I hope you can still trust me. I love you, Addie. Only you."

That was when she started to cry.

"Oh, Zed…"

She grabbed his collar and dragged him low enough so she could kiss him. Zed had the hardest time not smiling crazily, because the smile would have broken the kiss, and he didn't want that.

She was just the perfect size for him.

* * *

"And they lived happily ever after," Annalisa said with a sinister tone. "Guess the show's over, then."

"Why were you really there?" Eliza asked as the dark-haired girl jumped to the ground and stretched.

"I may or may not have been secretly hoping that he would realize his error and come back to me." She chuckled sadly. "You know what, I would even have been fine with her deciding to dump him and him taking me as a consolation prize."

Eliza sighed. There was nothing for her to answer to that. Had Annalisa been a friend, she would have said some words to comfort her, but they weren't really close enough for that.

"What about you by the way?" Annalisa asked. "You solved things with that dude?"

It took Eliza a second to remember that Annalisa had been there for her conversation with Bucky. She gave her an uncertain frown.

"I think he's never gonna quit. I might have to murder him."

Annalisa laughed loudly.

"Y'need help? I've got nothing planned for tonight."

Eliza shook her head, smiling.

"I'll probably leave the US as soon as I graduate. At least that way I'll be free from him."

"Hey, if you want to stop in Madrid to say hi, you're welcome."

"Careful, I'll probably take your word for it. You got a place to crash tonight or you were planning on going to a hotel?"

"Hotel, I guess."

"Wanna spend the night at my place?"

"Are you coming on to me? You're pretty and all, but I just got my heart broken, remember?"

They kept laughing and joking as they walked away. Eliza felt free. Annalisa didn't feel quite as good as the other girl, but even if her past plans for her life had all been taken away by the recent events, she knew where she was going. That was really all she needed.

* * *

Zed and Addie walked towards Zed's house, hand in hand. They felt like shy teenagers, like they were on the very first day of their relationship.

"Hey, Addie?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think we'll have to go through it all again?"

"What do you mean?"

"When your soulmate will arrive."

Addie chuckled.

"That would teach you, wouldn't it?"

"Hey," Zed protested, "you know I never meant to…"

"I know, I know," she immediately reassured him, giving his hand a squeeze. "I was just joking. Well, I think as soon as I'll start dreaming of him we should start travelling to get away."

"Really?" he asked, chuckling.

"That would make for a fun honey moon, don't you think?"

"My, my," Zed said, his smile so bright he almost had trouble talking, "is that a proposal, Addie?"

"Why, would you say yes?"

"You know I would," he whispered. "I love you."

"I love you," she answered.

They both relaxed, enjoying their walk under the moonlight, both realizing how hard that week without each other had been.

It felt as if they were finally able to breathe again.

* * *

 _..Wow._

 _So, this is the ending, guys. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm really happy I went for this, I hesitated between this and Addie and Zed breaking up while Bucky and Eliza would have gotten together, but that was not the story I wanted to tell, so that was a no._

 _Fun fact: Annalisa's name was supposed to be 'Dolores' at first and her nickname would have been 'Lola'. At first I thought it would paint her as too much of the villain (Dolores=pain), but now I think it would have fit her better, because at first you think she's there as the villain and then you discover the softer side of her (Lola). Ahem._

 _I'm so happy I finished this — I've never finished_ anything _before._

 _Please leave a review to give me your thoughts, no matter how long it has been since this was completed, I would love to read it!_

 _Goodbye for now,_

 _Dya._

 _PS: sorry if I rose hopes with the last chapter, I'm not going to keep writing for the fandom, at least not right now. I have other projects I'm more interested in at the moment. (if you're in the Inuyasha fandom you may be interested though)_

 _Lya Carvalho: That feels like a euphemism for Eliza and Bucky xD I'm happy you got to like Annalisa! I never meant for people to hate her, she's not the 'good guy' in the situation but she's not exactly the 'bad guy' either. Thank you so much for your continued support over the chapters, it really meant a lot to me, and again, sorry but I won't be writing it after all, I got the fandom out of my system for now ^^_

 _Grace: Actually, Annalisa could_ very much _hurt people. She gets extremely protective, ahah. Yup, Zed was in a complicated situation but that doesn't mean he always acted like a very responsible person. Thanks a lot for reviewing as much as you did, it means so much to me and it definitely helped me to keep writing the story!_


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